Children’s and parents’ perceptions on safe routes to schools: a mixed-methods study investigating factors influencing active school travel

ABSTRACT

The proportion of children walking or riding to school is dwindling in Australia, while pedestrian injuries are among children’s leading causes of death. A mixed-methods survey was conducted on children and parents of two schools in Australia to understand travel behaviours and attitudes towards active transport to school (ATS). Results showed that road safety perceptions predicted ATS, unlike distance to school and stranger danger. The design of the routes to school was found to be crucial in facilitating ATS, to address the fear of road danger. Practical implications include the need for more controlled pedestrian crossings and protected bike paths.

KEYWORDS:

• Crosswalks
• pedestrian
• sidewalk
• cycling
• bike tracks
• active travel

Author contribution

RS, survey design, identified themes inductively; quantitative analysis, write-up; PO, survey design, coordination of survey distribution, funding, write-up; VT, survey design, reviewed themes for consistency, write-up; GL, survey design, quantitative analysis, write-up.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/13574809.2023.2223517

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC) and the Sunshine Coast Council (SCC).