WElcome!
Discover Traffic Gardens is a small business committed to providing services, resources, and expertise to support the growth of traffic gardens and demonstrate their value for communities. Our goal is to create engaging spaces where children and new riders can build independent walking and biking skills, while learning about safe and thoughtful street design through hands-on activities. In addition to providing an overview of our services to help bring these transformative spaces to your community, this site serves as an information hub on traffic gardens across the U.S. and beyond.
What is a traffic garden?
A traffic garden is a set of small-sized streets with scaled-down traffic features where children and other new learners practice, learn and have fun in a place that is free from motor vehicles. Traffic Gardens are known by many terms including Safety Towns, Safety Villages, Learn-to-Cycle Tracks, Traffic Playgrounds and many similar terms. These mini-street networks provide a practical, hands-on way to learn about biking skills, road safety, and how traffic works. They serve as a controlled environment where kids can gain confidence and master critical life-long skills and key concepts for getting around safely. Because of the joy they bring to children and their role in engaging the community, traffic gardens often become highly cherished and beloved local amenities where memories are made.
In the United States, many children lack access to safe streets limiting their ability to navigate and experience these environments. In fact, the rate of children learning how to bike has dropped by over 50% in less than two decades in the U.S. This significant decline highlights a growing gap in essential skills, contributing to reduced independence and increased vulnerability in navigating public spaces. Traffic gardens address this by offering a safe space for teaching biking and hosting programs.
Watch this 2-minute traffic garden explainer!
Great 1-minute video of a traffic garden in action!
Traffic Garden Maps​
​These maps are ongoing projects to track traffic gardens worldwide, showcasing mini-street networks that have taught children street safety for decades. They also support university research on these installations and their impact. Please contact Fionnuala with updates.
A Typology of Traffic Gardens: Understanding Variations
There is no single 'typical' traffic garden; instead, there are many variations in their creation, layout, and appearance of these small sets of streets. The design of traffic gardens varies based on the types of users, skills being taught, available space, set up needs and budget resources. Currently in the United States, most traffic gardens being installed are of the 'traffic garden court' variety, although historically, many were of the 'traffic garden park' type. Despite differences in design and implementation, all aim to create a safe environment for new learners to walk, roll, and ride. The innate design flexibility of traffic gardens results in many unique and creative installations, some with murals and art, and many fostering community involvement.
TRAFFIC GARDEN COURT
Traffic Garden Courts are outdoor areas with striping and pavement markings applied on hard surfaces that simulate miniature street networks. They are typically installed on existing playgrounds, rehabilitated sports courts or repurposed parking lots though new surfaces are sometimes constructed. They can be installed relatively quickly and at an affordable cost. Modern high-quality surface-applied products offer vibrant, colorful appearances, reduced maintenance, and some even feature solar-reflective, heat-reducing properties.
Over the past decade in the U.S., the concept has gained momentum in parks and school systems. For example, Milwaukee Public Schools plans to have a Traffic Garden Court in every elementary school soon. Similarly, public schools in the District of Columbia, Seattle, and elsewhere have introduced initiatives to install traffic gardens at every elementary school. Placing traffic gardens directly on school grounds ensures that students of all ages, stages, backgrounds and abilities have consistent access to this learning resource.
Traffic Garden Courts are often open to the public during daylight hours or outside school hours. Typically, they do not require staffing or buildings, and users often need to supply their own bicycles or scooters.
TRAFFIC GARDEN PARK
Traffic Garden Park are outdoor facilities designed like a mini-street network, complete with curbed, asphalt streets. These facilities are typically standalone, equipped with staff and provide a variety of riding equipment from bicycles to pedal-powered or battery-operated vehicles for use in structured programs. Historically known as 'safety towns' or 'safety villages,' these types of facilities were built extensively in the U.S. during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
Despite being cherished by generations of children and their communities, the construction of this style of facility with real small-scale streets has declined significantly. The high costs associated with planning and building—encompassing site grading, drainage, permits, and construction—have likely deterred new installations. Nonetheless, many of the original facilities have withstood the test of time, remaining operational for decades and still regularly used today. Ohio and Illinois, in particular, host several notable examples of these enduring and beloved community assets.
Pop-Up or Temporary Traffic Gardens
Pop-up and temporary traffic gardens are both examples of street networks with traffic features applied to outdoor hard surfaces. Pop-up traffic gardens are typically set up for a few hours or days, while temporary traffic gardens stay in place for several weeks to a few months. Both types of traffic gardens can be assembled by a team of volunteers using tools and supplies readily available from hardware stores. The key difference lies in the materials: pop-up gardens use fully removable materials, while temporary gardens are built with more durable materials suited for extended outdoor use. These short-term traffic gardens are versatile and can be set up in places like parking lots, playgrounds, or temporarily closed streets. Volunteers often help run the associated programs and activities.