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Discover Traffic Gardens supports traffic gardens by offering services, resources, and products that bring these spaces to communities. We create engaging environments where children and new riders build walking and biking skills while learning safe street design. This site showcases our work, shop, and creates a hub for traffic garden information across the U.S. and beyond.
Welcome to the World of Traffic Gardens!
What is a traffic garden?
A traffic garden is a scaled-down street network where children and new riders practice biking and road safety in a car-free space. Also called safety towns or traffic playgrounds, these hands-on environments build confidence, teach lifelong skills, and foster community. In the U.S., many children lack safe streets to learn real-world navigation and develop skills. With kids biking rates dropping over 50% in two decades in the U.S., traffic gardens help bridge the gap by providing safe, engaging spaces for skill-building and play.
Watch this 2-minute traffic garden explainer!
Great 1-minute video of a traffic garden in action!
Where can I find Traffic Gardens?​
​These maps are ongoing projects to locate and track traffic gardens worldwide. They also support university research on these installations and their impact. Please contact Fionnuala with any new information.
A Typology of Traffic Gardens: Understanding Variations
Traffic gardens vary in design, with no single 'typical' layout. Their appearance and setup depend on users, skills taught, space, and budget. In the U.S., most recent installations feature surface-applied streets, while earlier versions used miniature asphalt roads. Despite design differences, all aim to provide a safe space for walking, rolling, and riding while creating an immersive, miniature-world experience. The following outlines key elements, options, and types.
TRAFFIC GARDEN COURTs
Traffic Garden Courts are outdoor networks of miniature streets created using permanent paint-type products applied to hard surfaces. These networks simulate streets with pavement markings, and traffic signs may be stenciled on the surface or added as portable features.
TRAFFIC GARDEN PARKs
Traffic Garden Parks are permanent outdoor facilities designed as mini-street networks, featuring asphalt or concrete streets. These streets may include curbs, pavement markings, and installed traffic signs. In some cases, they also feature buildings.
Short-term Traffic Gardens
Pop-up traffic gardens and temporary traffic gardens are both examples of street networks with traffic features applied to outdoor hard surfaces that can be readily removed or that wear away over a few weeks or months.
Mobile Traffic Gardens
A mobile traffic garden is a portable set of materials assembled into a kit that can be used to create a small- scale network of streets with traffic features either indoors or outdoors and that can be easily dismantled and packed away after a session or program.
Traffic Garden Features
Traffic gardens range from simple painted lines on parking lots to detailed, small-scale cities, leading to diverse features across installations. Their design flexibility allows for unique, creative layouts, often incorporating murals, art, and community involvement. Below are common features and real-life examples.
PAINTED STREETS
Some traffic gardens are created by using specialized paint and coating materials to recreate a scaled-down version of a street network on a hard surface. They can incorporate a variety of street types, from simple...
PAVED STREETS
Some traffic gardens feature asphalt or concrete streets, either with or without curbs. These streets are scaled-down replicas of real-world roads, with widths varying significantly across...
INTERSECTIONS
Intersections are a key feature, vital for both learning and appearance. They help new riders advance from simply biking to better understanding how streets work by introducing points of interaction that mimic real-world scenarios. These intersections...
Traffic SIGNS
Traffic signs are an essential element as they convey the information about how intersections and streets operate, complementing the information provided by the lines and pavement markings. They are key also to creating the realistic "traffic feel," helping...
Information Signs
Many traffic gardens feature a prominent, colorful information sign at or near the entrance, varying in style and content and sometimes on the course. These signs play an important role in guiding users and ensuring a positive experience. Typically, they start with a welcome message to set...
Preventing unauthorized vehicle access
When a traffic garden is situated so that the site potentially allows cars or trucks to cross, measures must be implemented to prevent unauthorized people from driving vehicles on the mini-streets. This is...
Art & Murals
Traffic Gardens, especially those painted on surfaces, provide an excellent canvas for adding artwork. Many sites have incorporated vibrant surface murals, transforming the space into a collaborative work of public art that celebrates local culture and enhances visual appeal. These murals not only enrich the learning environment but also create opportunities...
Mini-BUILDINGS
Some Traffic Garden Courts or Traffic Garden Parks feature buildings to further enhance the small town or city look and feel. These structures range from basic painted outlines on asphalt to simple models of community buildings, and occasionally detailed replicas of local landmarks, like those in Knoxville’s Safety City. Often, these models are created through community efforts, such as Eagle...
Rolling EQUIPMENT
Typically community-based traffic gardens in the U.S. require children to bring their own rolling devices, such as balance bikes, pedal bikes, and scooters. In contrast, school-based traffic gardens often supply balance bikes, pedal bikes, and adaptive bikes for their programs...
STORAGE
Storage is crucial for traffic gardens with portable equipment, for both protecting equipment and keeping everything organized and secure. Solutions typically include onsite lockable sheds or larger units like modified shipping containers that house items such as portable...
Stencils
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Stencils are essential for adding traffic signs and pavement markings in a traffic garden, ensuring clear, consistent visuals. Using rigid, high-quality and accurate stencils—whether purchased or custom-made—along with carefully-applied paint helps achieve durable, professional-looking results...
OTHER TRAFFIC GARDEN FEATURES & AMENITIES
Traffic gardens are designed not just for learning and play, but also to create inviting spaces where families, educators, and communities can gather. Some common features that enhance the usability and enjoyment of traffic gardens...
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