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| Happy New Year from Traffic Gardens HQ! 2024 was filled with exciting transformations - a demolished mall parking lot became an award-winning traffic garden, and old sports courts turned into vibrant, kid-friendly spaces. We launched the North American and Global Traffic Garden Maps which have become invaluable resources. Read on for trends and highlights, and watch for our Pop-up Shop reopening mid-January! |
|  | 2024 Traffic Garden Trends! Traffic gardens steadily grew in popularity across the U.S., driven by rising interest in teaching kids biking skills in communal settings. This reflects awareness of the decline in children learning to bike at home and the recognition of organized programs as a more efficient, equitable solution - plus the added bonus of fun and community engagement! |
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| Trend 1 - Geographic Spread Within Communities or Regions: When one traffic garden is installed, others often follow. The first project sparks momentum, leading to second and third installations. Some great examples include Charlotte-Mecklenburg, NC (5 so far + 1 more underway), Olympia-Thurston County, WA (5 with more planned), and Dayton-KY-Cincinnati-Ohio (4 in quick succession). Local knowledge and experience pave the way for more projects. |
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| Trend 2 - The Next Act is Schools: Traffic gardens are expanding rapidly in schools, led by district-wide initiatives. Milwaukee Public Schools completed adding 85 traffic gardens to all elementary schools in 2024. Seattle Public Schools has over a dozen, aiming for one in every elementary school by 2025. The District of Columbia Public Schools has passed a dozen and continues adding 3 to 5 more annually. This trend highlights a shift toward making traffic gardens a low-cost, standard feature as part of equitable access to biking skills and roadway safety education. |
| Trend 3 - Community Parks and Traffic Gardens: A Perfect Match
Community parks are ideal spots as they often have underused tennis or basketball courts available to be repurposed, while parks’ expertise in maintenance and contracting makes them natural partners. Playgrounds, benches, and other facilities boost usability, creating new vibrant spaces that attract families. Huntington Park Bike Traffic Garden exemplified this, integrating into the park like it had been there all along… |
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| Trend 4 - Pop-Up Traffic Gardens as Tools: Pop-up traffic gardens continue to be a popular way to introduce more substantial projects, a great example being Clarkson University and Hammond School District in New York. Some communities have stocked pre-designed kits for 2025 to simplify setup and reduce organizer effort. Others now deploy pop-ups annually at large events to highlight the importance of kids biking. |
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| Trend 5 - Collaborations and Partnerships: This isn’t a new trend as collaborations have been key all along to successful traffic garden projects. Projects rely on strong local alliances among organizations, schools, agencies, and increasingly experienced installers. Nonprofits often lead, introducing concepts and rallying support, while local officials leverage resources to realize projects. This culture of collaboration is growing, fostering information sharing and collective learning. An example is the Penn State survey and interview project with results expected in 2025. Conferences, webinars, and other platforms are playing a vital role in sharing best practices and strengthening connections among champions. |
| Trend 6 - Mini-Trends: Many traffic gardens now feature STEM toolkits, enhancing classroom learning about street design and fostering deeper educational connections. Engaging the public during the design phase has become a popular approach, promoting community ownership and strengthening support for these projects as well as expanding knowledge about street design. |
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| Trend 7 - Support & Tools: Templates, guides, and pre-made stencils simplify planning, budgeting, and installation, eliminating the need to start from scratch. Lots more resources like ‘Holding a Birthday Party’ and ‘Where Should I Start’ debuted this year. There’s even talk of an "off-the-shelf" traffic garden service launching in 2025! |
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| Trend 8 - Influencers Promote Traffic Gardens: Social media influencers, especially those focused on outdoor play, are boosting traffic garden awareness. Popular TikTok and Instagram reels showcase colorful spaces with happy, active kids, drawing families and amplifying appeal. The same projects also attract positive radio and TV coverage. Their visual, community-centric nature makes them ideal content, fostering engagement and sparking conversations about active transportation and safety. |
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| Personal Highlights of 2024 |
| | What Brings Us Joy: Projects We Helped Bring to Life This Year
Alexandria Apartment Community, VA Chase Elementary School, OH Ethel Taylor Academy, OH Huntington Park Bike Traffic Garden, MD John Muir Elementary School, WA Peabody Elementary School, DC Rising Star Elementary School, WA South Avondale Elementary School, OH The Heights Bike Playground, WA Rotary Traffic Playground, VA
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| What Keeps Us Busy: Resources We’ve Created and Shared
Educators STEM Box Kit DIY Traffic Garden Kits ‘Where Should I Start’ ‘Traffic Garden Birthday Party’ ‘Traffic Garden Fun Activities’ ‘Laying Out a Traffic Garden’ ‘Planning a Traffic Garden Launch’ ‘Great Books About Streets’ State DOT Policy Memos North American Traffic Garden Map Global Traffic Garden Map |
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| | How We Connected in Real Life
We met up with folks in Seattle, Portland, Philadelphia, Boston, Fort Collins, Baltimore, DC, Dublin, and Waynesboro. We visited traffic gardens in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Oregon, District of Columbia, Maryland, Washington, Colorado, Massachusetts and Virginia. |
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| | Other highlights included: SRTS National Summit presentation; SHAPE Conference presentation; Maryland Highway Summit presentation; U.S.-Japan Zoom Call; Congressional Bike Ride; Team Saturday Workshop; Learn 2 Cycle Track Dublin launch; Oregon Public Broadcast ‘Thinking Out Loud’ Guest; Huntington Park ribbon-cutting; Vancouver, WA installation painting; Waynesboro, VA Rotary Club field day; Mobility Matters Podcast guest; Kent Rotary Club Ohio presentations; Vienna BAC Virginia presentation; DCPS Bike Giveaway Pop-up Traffic Garden; Moakley Park, MA traffic garden tour; Seattle Schools Traffic Garden and Bike Ed Tour and Portland-Columbia River Gorge e-bike tour. |
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|  | | Special Pals & Visitors
We’re grateful for the amazing pals who keep us motivated, encouraged and on track year-round: Rick, Ellen, Sam B., Andrea, Steven, Maria, Galen, Bill, A.J., and Sam P. We especially love when visitors drop by Traffic Garden HQ! Week after week, our chats with the Early Childhood Coalition crew and guests bring us inspiration and energy. And a special shoutout to Anna Wickstrom, who works with us every day, offering encouragement, grace, and unwavering support through all the ups and downs of traffic gardens.
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Thank you to the individuals and organizations whose invaluable support and dedication have been instrumental in advancing safer streets through traffic garden initiatives. It takes a lot of often-invisible partnering and effort by everyone to make things happen so a big thank you and recognition to:
AJ Zelada, Adrian Killigrew, Alek Pochowski, Alexandria Carroll, Alison Dewey, Allison Glass, Alyson West, Amanda Fulford, Amy Gage, Andrea Garland, Andrew Sheldon, Andy Rasmussen, Anna Zivarts, Ariana Green, Arlene Holt, Ashley Rhead, Asad Khan, Aysha Ruya Cohen, Bari Freeman, Betty Bourret, Bill Nesper, Brandy Brubaker, Brian Canevari, Brooke Nelson,, Cailin Henley, Caitlin Sparks, Charlie Denney, Charlie Strunk, Chris Eatough, Chris Gonda, Christine Mayeur, Cynthia Walters, Danielle King, Dave Cowan, David Perlick, Diane Hanson, Diane Lambert, Dick Winters, Elizabeth Class-Maldonado, Dr. Ellen Rodgers, Elly Porter-Webb, Emma Carlson, Eric Bishop, Erik Backus, Esther Walker, Fernando Martinez, Fred Young, Galen Mook, Gar-Yun Ho, Gerben Helleman, Gina Arlotto, Graham Coreil-Allen, Hannah Kapell, Jack Cebe, Jack Guarneri, Jake Newborn, Jamil Modaffari, Jeff Anderson, Jeff Gearheart, Jim Teller, Joe Mushock, Jon Korin, Juliet Walker, Kathleen Hayes, Katie Barton, Kerri Wilson, Dr. Kojiro Matsuo, Kristen Brookshire, Kristin Pettway, Lindsay Ridenour, Lisa Weyer, Lora Hamp, Lori Dunn, Mandy Fitzpatrick, Maria Nicklin, Martha Lara, Matt Rumbaugh, Maya Goldstein, Maya Goldstein, Mayln Co, Megan Bailiff, Megan Ramey, Dr. Melissa Bopp, Mike Eastwood, Michael Joyce, Mike McCarrick, Michelle Biggs, Miriam Kenyon, Dr. Misti Mueller, Mitch Decker, Mital Chakma, Naresh Machavarapu, Nancy Nichols, Nancy Pullen-Seufert, Nora Stoelting, Paul Walksy, Pearlene Cheah, Dr. Peter Norton, Peter Van Tilburg, Rachel O’Donnell, Rachel Ruhlen, Randy Waltermyer, Rick & Kathy Holt, Rita Joachim, Robert Linz, Rose Mesterhazy, Ryan Fisher, Ryan Storkman, Sam Balto, Sam Pearson, Sara Colling, Sarah Lytle, Stephanie Seltzer, Steve Garon, Stephen McGinn, Stephen Rowley, Steven Hardy-Braz, Steven Koch, Summer Jawson, Sunny Zhang, Todd Packer, Tom Decker, Trevor Luu, Wendy Phelps, Will Andrews, Will Grimm.
Thank you also to our newsletter readers for your interest as we embark on another year of growth and initiatives!
Warm regards, Fionnuala Quinn and the Traffic Garden HQ Team |
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