Planning for Safe Schools: Impacts of School Siting and Surrounding Environments on Traffic Safety
Journal of Planning Education and Research
Published online on November 16, 2015
Abstract
This study explores the impacts of school siting and surrounding built environments on rates of motorist and pedestrian crashes around public schools in the Austin Independent School District, Texas, by using log-linear regressions. The results show that a higher sidewalk coverage and a higher percentage of local roads reduce pedestrian crashes around schools, while higher percentages of highways and commercial uses and higher transit stop densities increase motorist and pedestrian crashes. It is desirable to locate schools in areas with higher percentages of local roads and lower percentages of highways and commercial uses.