Situating study of student travel safety to and from Bennetto Elementary School

Abstract

Bennetto Elementary School is a public school located in the north-end of Hamilton. In September 2024, a student waiting for the school bus was struck by a car and sustained life-altering injuries. This incident highlighted safety risks along the school route, and motivated the Bennetto Elementary School Parent Council to explore ways to improve safe travel for students to and from school. To better understand these risks and possible solutions, the Parent Council partnered with the McMaster Research Shop to examine school travel safety. The project focused on three research questions: (1) What actors are currently working to address student safety on the school route in Hamilton, (2) What approaches to collecting data on street safety concerns might be useful for a future study? And (3) How might concepts of “safety” differ across individuals, communities, and social identities, especially within the context of school travel? Methods included an environmental scan of actors and a literature review on the social and structural dimensions of safety.