The Impact of Introducing Low Traffic Neighbourhoods on Road Traffic Injuries

We examine the impact on road traffic injuries of introducing low traffic neighbourhoods in Waltham Forest, London. Using Stats19 police data 2012-2019, we find a three-fold decline in number of injuries inside low traffic neighbourhoods after implementation, relative to the rest of Waltham Forest and the rest of Outer London. We further estimate that walking, cycling, and driving all became approximately 3-4 times safer per trip. There was no evidence that injury numbers changed on boundary roads. Our findings suggest that low traffic neighbourhoods reduce injury risks across all modes inside the neighbourhood, without negative impacts at the boundary

The Impact of 2020 Low Traffic Neighbourhoods on Fire Service Emergency Response Times, in London, UK

Between March and September 2020, 72 ‘Low Traffic Neighbourhoods’ (LTNs) were implemented in London. We examined the impact on fire brigade emergency response times in October 2020-February 2021 (‘post’), as compared to the same months in the previous two years (‘pre’). We found no evidence that response times inside the LTNs or on boundary roads were affected (e.g. pre/post change for first engine: -14 seconds inside LTNs; -11 seconds in the rest of London; p=0.4 for difference). Fire crews reported more delays due to ‘traffic calming measures’ in LTNs, but this was entirely offset by a decrease in delays for other reasons, particularly ‘traffic’. This was true both in LTNs that predominately blocked motor traffic using physical barriers (e.g. planters) and in LTNs using camera enforcement. These findings add to evidence that LTNs do not adversely affect emergency response times

Associations between active travel and weight, blood pressure and diabetes in six middle income countries: a cross-sectional study in older adults

BACKGROUND: There is little published data on the potential health benefits of active travel in low and middle-income countries. This is despite increasing levels of adiposity being linked to increases in physical inactivity and non-communicable diseases. This study will examine: (1) socio-demographic correlates of using active travel (walking or cycling for transport) among older adults in six populous middle-income countries (2) whether use of active travel is associated with adiposity, systolic blood pressure and self-reported diabetes in these countries. METHODS: Data are from the WHO Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE) of China, India, Mexico, Ghana, Russia and South Africa with a total sample size of 40,477. Correlates of active travel (≥150 min/week) were examined using logistic regression. Logistic and linear regression analyses were used to examine health related outcomes according to three groups of active travel use per week. RESULTS: 46.4% of the sample undertook ≥150 min of active travel per week (range South Africa: 21.9% Ghana: 57.8%). In pooled analyses those in wealthier households were less likely to meet this level of active travel (Adjusted Risk Ratio (ARR) 0.77, 95% Confidence Intervals 0.67; 0.88 wealthiest fifth vs. poorest). Older people and women were also less likely to use active travel for ≥150 min per week (ARR 0.71, 0.62; 0.80 those aged 70+ years vs. 18-29 years old, ARR 0.82, 0.74; 0.91 women vs. men). In pooled fully adjusted analyses, high use of active travel was associated with lower risk of overweight (ARR 0.71, 0.59; 0.86), high waist-to-hip ratio (ARR 0.71, 0.61; 0.84) and lower BMI (-0.54 kg/m(2), -0.98;- 0.11). Moderate (31-209 min/week) and high use (≥210 min/week) of active travel was associated with lower waist circumference (-1.52 cm (-2.40; -0.65) and -2.16 cm (3.07; -1.26)), and lower systolic blood pressure (-1.63 mm/Hg (-3.19; -0.06) and -2.33 mm/Hg (-3.98; -0.69)). CONCLUSIONS: In middle-income countries use of active travel for ≥150 min per week is more common in lower socio-economic groups and appears to confer similar health benefits to those identified in high-income settings. Efforts to increase active travel levels should be integral to strategies to maintain healthy weight and reduce disease burden in these settings

Equity impacts of cycling investment in England: a natural experimental study using longitudinally linked individual-level census data.

BACKGROUND: Cycling is beneficial for health and the environment but the evidence on the overall and differential impacts of interventions to promote cycling is limited. Here we assess the equity impacts of funding awarded to support cycling in 18 urban areas between 2005 and 2011. METHODS: We used longitudinally linked 2001 and 2011 census data from 25,747 individuals in the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study of England and Wales. Logistic regression was used to assess the impacts of funding on commute mode as the interaction between time and area (intervention/comparison) in individual-level difference-in-difference analyses, adjusting for a range of potential confounding factors. Differential impacts were examined by age, gender, education and area-level deprivation, and uptake and maintenance of cycling were examined separately. RESULTS: Difference-in-difference analyses showed no intervention impact on cycle commuting prevalence in the whole sample (AOR = 1.08; 95% CI 0.92, 1.26) or among men (AOR = 0.91; 95% CI 0.76, 1.10) but found an intervention effect among women (AOR = 1.56; 95% CI 1.16, 2.10). The intervention promoted uptake of cycling commuting in women (AOR = 2.13; 95% CI 1.56, 2.91) but not men (AOR = 1.19; 95% CI 0.93, 1.51). Differences in intervention effects by age, education and area-level deprivation were less consistent and more modest in magnitude. CONCLUSIONS: Living in an intervention area was associated with greater uptake of cycle commuting among women but not men. Potential gender differences in the determinants of transport mode choice should be considered in the design and evaluation of future interventions to promote cycling

Associations of public transportation use with cardiometabolic health: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Public transport provides an opportunity to incorporate physical activity into journeys, but potential health impacts have not been systematically examined. Literature searches were carried out up to December 2017 using Medline, Embase, Transport Database, Scopus, Cochrane Library, opengrey.eu and Google. We identified longitudinal studies which examined associations between public transport and cardio-metabolic health including: adiposity, type II diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. We assessed study quality using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for cohort studies and performed meta-analyses where possible. Ten studies were identified, seven investigating use of public transport and three examining proximity to public transport. Seven studies used individual level data on changes in BMI with objective outcomes measured in six studies. Study follow-up ranged from one to ten years with three studies adjusting for non-transport physical activity. We found a consistent association between public transport use and lower BMI. Meta-analysis of data from five comparable studies found that switching from car to public transport was associated with lower BMI: −0.30 kg/m2 (−0.47, −0.14). Few studies have investigated associations between public transport use and non-adiposity outcomes. These findings suggest that sustainable urban design which promotes public transport use may produce modest reductions in population BMI

Impacts of 2020 Low Traffic Neighbourhoods in London on Road Traffic Injuries

We assessed the impacts of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) implemented in 2020 on road traffic injuries. We used police data from October-December 2018/2019 (pre) compared with the same period in 2020 (post). We found absolute numbers of injuries inside LTNs halved relative to the rest of London (ratio 0.51, p<0.001). Considering changes in background travel patterns, our results indicate substantial reductions in pedestrian injury risk. Risks to other road users may also have fallen, but by a more modest amount. We found no evidence of changes in injury numbers or risk on LTN boundary roads

Microscale structural changes of individual fibrin fibers during fibrinolysis

Fibrinolysis is the enzymatic digestion of fibrin, the primary structural component in blood clots. Mechanisms of fibrin fiber digestion during lysis have long been debated and obtaining detailed structural knowledge of these processes is important for developing effective clinical approaches to treat ischemic stroke and pulmonary embolism. Using dynamic fluorescence microscopy, we studied the time-resolved digestion of individual fibrin fibers by the fibrinolytic enzyme plasmin. We found that plasmin molecules digest fibers along their entire lengths, but that the rates of digestion are non-uniform, resulting in cleavage at a single location along the fiber. Using mathematical modeling we estimated the rate of plasmin arrival at the fiber surface and the number of digestion sites on a fiber. We also investigated correlations between local fiber digestion rates, cleavage sites, and fiber properties such as initial thickness. Finally, we uncovered a previously unknown tension-dependent mechanism that pulls fibers apart during digestion. Taken together these results promote a paradigm shift in understanding mechanisms of fibrinolysis and underscore the need to consider fibrin tension when assessing fibrinolytic approaches.ECU Open Access Publishing Support Fun