OBJECTIVE: Air pollution is now a public health concern and there is an urgent need to find local feasible solution to overcome the related health issues. Regarding outdoor air pollution effect on vendors health and workplaces exposed to high traffic, it is important to accurately define the most exposed between those working along main roads or in roundabouts with high traffic. The purpose of this study was to assess the vendors respiratory health risks associated with these different geographical positions in Cotonou. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted and included all the shops along a main road and a roundabout with high traffic in Cotonou. One person was recruited per shop and was allocated a unique GPS data associated with the geographical position of its shop. Validated questionnaire on respiratory symptoms was administered to 194 individuals who were included. RESULTS: The mean (standard deviation) of age of workers was 36.26 (±11.65) years and the sex ratio (M/F) was 1.8. Most of respondents (69.07%) worked in non-ventilated rooms. 72.68% of the workers reported at least one respiratory symptom. This proportion was significantly different (p<0.001) between the subpopulations at roundabout (96.15%) and apart from the roundabout (64.08%). The most reported symptoms by the workers were respectively cough (47.94%), itchy nose (42.27%) and breathlessness (28.35%). The risk of cough and itchy nose symptoms were respectively 5.15 (OR=5.15; 95% CI= [2.21;12.04]; p< .001) and 3.44 (OR=3.44; 95% CI= [1.55;7.63]; p=0.002) higher in individuals working at the roundabout compared to those working along the main road. CONCLUSION: Working in roundabout is associated with more respiratory disorders than practicing in shop along a main road. In a resources limited settings, it may be important to focus air pollution mitigation effort on this subpopulation of workers.