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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, and Traffic Playgrounds. These spaces are designed to 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 these 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 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 mini-street networks are found across the U.S., Canada, and in various locations worldwide. These two maps are ongoing projects designed to identify traffic gardens worldwide, compiled through extensive research and tracking down photo leads. The maps help highlight the connections between mini-street networks that, for decades, have been used under different names and designs to introduce children to the basics of street safety and navigation. Additionally, the maps now serve as databases that support University research projects, enabling better studies of these installations and their impacts. Please message Fionnuala with any new information to update the maps.​
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. 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 Courts are outdoor areas with striping and pavement markings applied on hard surfaces that simulate miniature street networks. These traffic gardens 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.
Over the past decade, the concept has gained momentum in the U.S., with numerous parks and school systems embracing it. For example, Milwaukee Public Schools plans to have a Traffic Garden Court in every elementary school by the end of 2024. Similarly, public schools in the District of Columbia, Seattle, and other regions 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, and abilities have consistent access to this valuable 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 COURT
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.
Mobile Traffic Garden Kit
A mobile traffic garden kit is a portable set of materials that can be used to create a small- scale traffic garden either indoors or outdoors and that can be easily dismantled and packed away after a session or program. It is designed to provide a reduced version of a street network while considering practical aspects such as portability and storage. Although there are currently no commercially available mobile traffic garden kits in the U.S., many communities create their own kits using a range of off-
the-shelf products customized to suit their needs.
One of the main challenges when assembling a kit is
making it truly portable so that it can be easily set up and
taken down without too much staff effort. To achieve this,
the choice of materials, storage containers, and carrying
system is critical. While the process of moving and setting
up the traffic garden may take some time and effort, careful
planning and smart material selection can result in a useful
and effective kit.
Traffic Garden Features
Traffic gardens vary greatly, from simple painted lines on parking lots to detailed, small-scale cities, resulting in a wide range of features across installations. With no standardized design guidance, these spaces often showcase unique elements that reflect local character and the specific efforts of their original champions. While some sites have evolved over time, others remain unchanged from their original design. Below are features often found in existing traffic gardens.
PAVED STREETS
Some traffic gardens feature asphalt streets, either with or without curbs. These streets are scaled-down replicas of real-world roads, with widths varying significantly across different sites. They are usually custom-designed and constructed on greenfield locations, which involves grading, drainage, and likely the need to obtain permits from local agencies. Many of the U.S. facilities with physical mini-streets have been in place for decades. Outside of the U.S., many installations have paved streets of this type.
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 one-ways to more complex multi-lane streets. They also feature roundabouts, pedestrian pathways, mid-block crossings, and even designated parking spaces.
The idea is to create a simplified world where new learners can experience what it is like navigating roadways. A key aspect of achieving this illusion is the use of authentic traffic paint colors and simplified pavement markings, such as stop lines, directional arrows, and crosswalks. These familiar visuals reinforce the perception of a real-world setting, allowing participants to practice navigating traffic in a controlled, and comfortable setting.
INTERSECTIONS
Intersections are a key feature, vital for both learning and appearance. They help new riders advance from simply biking to understanding how the transportation system works by introducing points of interaction that mimic real-world scenarios. These intersections—4-way stops, 3-way T-intersections, or roundabouts—may also include pedestrian crossings, stop signs, and yield markings to enhance learning.
Intersections are where road users make quick decisions—whether to stop, yield, or proceed. In traffic gardens, riders can safely practice this decision-making process repeatedly, without the risk of actual traffic. They also learn right-of-way rules and how to interpret road signs and signals, all in a hands-on way. Successfully navigating intersections requires looking, signaling, and moving in coordination, allowing riders to improve these multitasking skills in a comfortable environment.
Traffic SIGNS
Traffic gardens include reduced-scale stop signs, yield signs, crossing signs, directional signs, crossbacks, and, sometimes, working traffic signals. Occasionally, the local public works department will donate signs.
Informational Signs
There are numerous ways to create an informational sign and various types of information to include. Displaying the rules of the traffic garden is always beneficial to riders.
Art & Murals
Traffic Gardens are fantastic places to add artwork. Some sites have added colorful surface murals as the space is ideal for such collaborations. Others have memorialized local people or represented the community through installations or other artistic ways.
Mini-BUILDINGS
Some Traffic Garden Courts or Parks feature buildings to create the look and feel of a small town or city. 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 Scout projects, and are frequently sponsored by local businesses or organizations, with real business names displayed. These sponsor signs add realism while also fostering community involvement and highlighting local partnerships.
Rolling EQUIPMENT
Most public 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 and maintain fleets of these devices for use at the facility. Some locations offer bicycles for students participating in their programs and may permit the use of other wheeled devices, like bikes and scooters, outside of scheduled activities. Additionally, certain programs collaborate with providers of adaptive devices to enhance accessibility for participants. Some traffic garden parks even provide pedal cars or electric cars for use within their programs.
STORAGE
Storage is generally needed whenever a traffic garden has portable features or mobile equipment. This usually takes the form of an onsite locked shed, which may also be used for storing bicycles and associated equipment like pumps and helmets.
OTHER FEATURES
Some common traffic garden additions include benches (for adults), picnic tables, trees (for shade), and plazas (for organizing groups and lessons). Some traffic gardens even have elements like car washes or EV parking.
Looking for more Traffic Garden History?
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