|
It's been a minute since we've shared
 with you what we've been working on here at Traffic Gardens HQ. 2022 was a whirlwind from traffic garden tours to writing guides, workshops to designing installations. We ended up the year with a Parks & Recreation cover article, having collaborated with Dr. Ellen Rodgers of George Mason University and Rick Holt of the Early Childhood Mobility Coalition, traffic garden pals going back to the days of the first DC traffic garden project. This year is continuing on the same trajectory plus we have some new things in the works. Back in March, the traffic garden stencil sets (basic and deluxe) launched on PavementStencil.com. Here's the unboxing video for the full set to show how it arrives in the mail. Just a few weeks ago, we unveiled the North American Permanent Traffic Garden Map, showcasing over 180 installations across the continent. And that's not all — there's more to share in this newsletter. Speaking of good times, our favorite corgi, Traffic Garden Inspector Aegis, has been having a bustling summer as well. You'll find her enjoying favorite summertime activities in our newsletter as well as across our website and activity sheets!
|
|
|
Back when Discover Traffic Gardens (DTG) first launched, part of the dream was to provide much-needed guidance and assistance for those planning to create traffic gardens around the U.S. Previously, projects were developed from the ground up and heavily reliant on peer support. Fast forward a few years and you can now see the transformation that is emerging on our Resources page.
We are excited about the latest addition, One Traffic Garden at a Time, jointly developed by Arlington County, Virginia, and Prince George's County, Maryland. Thanks to the collaboration with a Kittelson team and funded by a MWCOG grant, DTG helped with the creation of this comprehensive resource. Although conceived as a regional guide, it should prove valuable nationally as it covers so many aspects of pop-up, temporary and permanent installations. It was great being part of a project that brought together two counties from different states to work side by side on this project. Don't miss team-member Ian McMurray's fascinating history of traffic gardens too!
|
|
A belated congratulations to the Traffic Garden Dream Team on launching Hillcrest Park Traffic Garden! I was brought into the project back in May 2022, public input was held in August and there they are cutting the ribbon in October. The behind-the-scenes orchestrator of this project was Terry Lansdale, Director of BikeWalkNC. Every year, BikeWalkNC organizes their state-wide conference in various locations across North Carolina and they leave behind a meaningful token of appreciation for the local hosts. With the support of an AARP Community Challenge Grant, they gifted this traffic garden to the Winterville community to mark the 2022 conference. Truly, a remarkable and impactful gesture. |
|
Since 2015, we've been hosting hands-on design charrettes and workshops for kids so we were so happy to dive into the world of hands-on street design activities once again. We were back in action not just in fall of 2022 but spring of 2023 with some great large-scale projects!
Our amazing intern Pari joined us for a design workshop at TEAM Saturday where she conducted a super engaging focus group with middle schoolers. The teens shared their ideas and experience and the results are making their way into a new STEM guide that will be published in the fall.
As the pandemic years limited the ability to hold these type of in-person events, we turned our focus to creating Traffic Garden STEM Educator Kits that include a teacher guide and supporting materials. So far these have gone out to four elementary schools and we continue to work on refining these kits so that they can become available for purchase soon.
|
|
|
The Department of Transport at the Kids Zone
MLK Ave/Good Hope Rd Area Safety and Connectivity Study Fun Day
|
|
|
The Westside Elementary Traffic Garden transformed an ordinary school parking lot into a vibrant traffic garden. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony in Roanoke, Virginia, we had one of those great days where we celebrated the success of this multi-agency community project. The City Mayor and School Superintendent spoke about its inspiring impact, and how the design aligns with the city-wide road safety campaign conducted by Alta Planning + Design. Best of all, this traffic garden is a trailblazer as the WORLD'S FIRST robot-installed permanent traffic garden, a true game changer! Enjoy the video from RVTV3 as it captures some of the robot installation as well as the STEM workshop held for students as part of the project. Keep an eye out for our hard-working robot pal navigating the site with the kids on bikes. A big thank you to the traffic garden team and Turf Tank for making this innovative project possible!
|
|
Beyond producing guidelines and instructions for creating traffic gardens using traditional methods, we're striving to use technology to come up with additional methods so that traffic gardens can reach further. So far, we've joined forces with two different robot companies, Turf Tank and TinyMobileRobots. Careful readers of our *very occasional* newsletter will recognize this shot from the first-ever demonstration of a robot painting a temporary traffic garden by TinyMobileRobots. That gave us our first glimpse of the vast possibilities and we have gone on to several interesting initiatives since.
Our latest demo project asked how can we easily set up an indoor traffic garden. Traditional methods involving heavy kit materials and time-consuming layout can be impractical for instructors or short program sessions. Plus the storage and hauling involved add to the expenses and burdens. Imagine if instead the traffic garden could be easily turned on and off in a big indoor space. Well, we've witnessed this possibility! We stood on a deck overlooking a large empty warehouse floor when in an instant the space below us transformed into a full-scale traffic garden. As the Traffic Garden music theme played, it felt like a remarkable moment! You can check out the demo video that we made after we'd calmed down a bit. Thank you to LifeSize Plans in Dublin for working with us as we continue to figure out what such programs could look like. |
|
Here at Traffic Garden HQ, we've been working with various architect teams as schools in Seattle are being remodeled. Every project has been different but they are all being installed in support of the amazing work that is taking place on behalf of kids in the Seattle Public Schools: SPS kids receive biking and pedestrian instruction in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade and now programs are being rolled out in middle school and for kindergarteners too.
|
|
|
|
The first two traffic gardens in Seattle Public Schools are on
the ground. Check out the Kimball Elementary School train station.
|
|
But here's the coolest part: there's a brand-new guide on the way that's mostly focused on setting up traffic gardens in school grounds, even when there's all sorts of site geometries and a bunch of different stuff vying for space. Sneak peek below!
|
|
The North American traffic garden survey led by Professor Melissa Bopp of Penn State is out! This is the first comprehensive survey taking stock of traffic garden/safety town/safety village/bike playground installations and results will help inform future projects. At last word, there have been 26 participants (some representing several facilities). Pass along the survey link to anyone who may have been missed. Participation is vital so that we can start to form a real picture of how traffic gardens are working to make communities better! The project is being supported also by Dr. Ellen Rodgers of George Mason University so we're delighted to be able to lend a hand. |
|
We took a winding road trip from Iowa to Virginia back in May, stopping a traffic gardens and safety towns all along the way. We were very excited to get a tour from Jake Newborn of Wisconsin Bike Fed to see the amazing work of adding traffic gardens to Milwaukee Public Schools. We stopped en route by Dayton, Kentucky, a project we are assisting on which has been featured in national media stories. Meanwhile, we're wrapping up the designs of a bunch of other traffic gardens right now in New Jersey and Washington state so maybe there will be more travel to visit those upcoming installations. In other news, the Early Childhood Mobility Coalition is going strong and has some *top secret* big plans afoot. All profits from our shop goes to their work.
If you're in the area, let us know so we can meet up or maybe stop by Traffic Garden HQ. Here's the most famous person in our phone, Coach Sam Balto, who came by to have a chat with the most famous dog in traffic gardens.
Thanks for reading! We are grateful for the support of our project team members, community members, and officials as we work on traffic gardens that are intended to ultimately make streets safer for everyone. Together, we can create more livable and sustainable communities.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
