Intercity Transit’s Walk N Roll program partners with the Child Care Action Council’s Safe Kids Thurston County program to install pop-up and permanent traffic gardens in our community.
What is a Traffic Garden?
Traffic Gardens are miniature streetscapes that provide youth a realistic and fun place to learn and practice bicycle and pedestrian safety skills in an environment away from vehicles. Traffic gardens include real world traffic features such as intersections, stop signs, crosswalks, and roundabouts.
Pop-up traffic gardens are temporary and installed using chalk and removable materials. Permanent traffic gardens are painted on the asphalt and provide a long-term learning space. Both types of traffic gardens are installed on playgrounds, parking lots or other paved areas.
Visit a permanent traffic garden
Safe Kids Thurston County and Intercity Transit partnered with North Thurston Public Schools and the Olympia School District, with funding from State Farm to install two permanent traffic gardens in Thurston County. Both traffic gardens are open to community members during non-school hours.
The traffic gardens are located on the playgrounds at Mountain View Elementary School, 1900 College St SE in Lacey and McKenny Elementary School, 3250 Morse-Merryman Rd SE, in Olympia.
Help youth learn and stay safe by encouraging them to follow these rules:
- Practice using the traffic garden as a pedestrian, on your bike, or on a scooter.
- Always wear a properly fitted helmet if cycling or scooting.
- Ride in a straight line, single file, in the same direction as traffic.
- Obey all traffic signs and signals.
- Stop and check left-right-left for others before entering or crossing a street.
- Practice using hand signals when turning right, left, and stopping.
Partner with us on a traffic garden project
Do you want help installing a permanent or pop-up traffic garden at your school, park or community event? Send us an email for more information walknroll@intercitytranit.com.
Interested in creating your own pop-up traffic garden? Check-out this manual from the Washington Department of Health or find more information at Discover Traffic Gardens.