Item - 2016.HL14.1

The Board of Health:

1.  Requested the Acting Medical Officer of Health to continue to collaborate with Transportation Services and its Road Safety Task Force to partner on initiatives that improve safety for all road users, especially for school children, and to promote awareness of the Guide to Safer Streets Near Schools.

2. Requested the Acting Medical Officer of Health collaborate with the Executive Director, Social Development, Finance and Administration to consider promotion of road safety initiatives, such as the Guide to Safer Streets Near Schools, to relevant community agencies and neighborhood groups in the City's Neighborhood Improvement Areas. 

3.  Forwarded the report (September 12, 2016) from the Acting Medical Officer of Health, along with the Guide to Safer Streets Near Schools to the Toronto District School Board, the Toronto Catholic District School Board, le Conseil scolaire Viamonde, le Conseil scolaire de district catholique Centre-Sud, for their consideration and endorsement, and ask them to promote it widely through avenues such as EcoSchools, and parent and school councils.

4.  Forwarded the report (September 12, 2016) from the Acting Medical Officer of Health and Guide to Safer Streets Near Schools from the Acting Medical Officer of Health to the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee, the City-School Boards Advisory Committee, 8-80 Cities, Canadian Automobile Association, City of Toronto Road Safety Advisory Group, Cycle Toronto, Community Bicycle Network, Culture Link, David Suzuki Foundation, Green Communities Canada, Metrolinx, Ontario Public Health Association, Parachute, Share the Road Cycling Coalition, Toronto Centre for Active Transportation, Toronto Cycling Think and Do Tank, Toronto Police Services, Toronto Student Transportation Group, University of Toronto's School of the Environment, the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Walk Toronto, the provincial Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Children and Youth Services, and to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care's Health Promotion Division.

The Acting Medical Officer of Health introduced the item and the presenters.

Katie Wittmann, formerly a School Travel Planning Facilitator, Green Communities Canada

Currently and currently an  Urban Fellow Research Associate, City of Toronto and Nancy Smith Lea, Director, Toronto Centre for Active Transportation, gave a presentation to the Board of Health.

School aged children who walk and cycle to school can establish healthy and active lifestyle patterns that continue throughout their lives. Unfortunately, in Toronto only 7 percent of students (grade 7-12) are meeting Canada's physical activity guidelines.  In Toronto walking to school has declined from 59 percent to 45 percent (11-13 year olds) and 35 percent to 29 percent (14-17 year olds) since 1986.

While walking and cycling have many health benefits, people that walk and cycle face a higher risk of injury or death as a result of collisions with motor vehicles. Youth have a high proportion of pedestrian and cyclist injuries and fatalities.  Research has found that in Toronto the risk of pedestrian and cyclist injury in children travelling to school is associated with characteristics of the built environment, including road design and road speeds.

Many communities are interested in improving road safety in their neighborhoods, but complex decision-making structures in the City of Toronto make it difficult to understand how to request active transportation improvements. 

The purpose of this report is to inform the Board of Health about collaborative initiatives that promote road safety for school children, and specifically about a new community-based resource Guide to Safer Streets Near Schools - Understanding Your Policy Options in the City of Toronto.