Gender-based differences in school travel mode choice behaviour: Examining the relationship between the neighbourhood environment and perceived traffic safety

A consistent decline in active school transportation among North American children has drawn attention of those concerned with children's health and wellbeing. Consequently, an emerging literature has explored the enablers and barriers to walking and cycling, including the role of the neighbourhood environment. This study makes a novel contribution by examining the relationship between the objectively measured neighbourhood characteristics and parental perceptions of traffic safety, and gender based differences in this relationship, as it relates to school travel mode choice behaviour (walking versus being driven) in Toronto, Canada. Structural equation models were estimated to explore home-to-school trip data on 720 students attending 5th/ 6th grade in 16 public schools. Results indicated that boys were more likely to walk to school than girls. Distance, sidewalk unavailability and intersection density were inversely correlated with parental perceptions of neighbourhood automobile safety and walking infrastructure for both genders. However, parental perception of automobile safety was negatively correlated with heavy traffic near school only for boys, and with major road crossings en route to school only for girls. Interestingly, both perceptions were only associated with a boy׳s school travel outcome; a girl׳s school travel mode choice was not affected by these two parental perceptions. Policies and programmes to increase walking to/from to school should also acknowledge the gendered nature of school travel behaviour.