A bicycle garden at Horizons-on-the-Hudson Elementary School in Orange County.
Travel Well is leading the creation of a “traffic park” at an unused tennis court at Forsyth Park. The above bicycle garden was taken at Horizons-on-the-Hudson Elementary School in Orange County.
A “traffic park” is sometimes called a traffic garden, transportation park, or safety village. The project will paint the surface of an unused tennis court at Forsyth Park to look like a streetscape for users of all ages to practice their bicycle, scooter, or walking safety skills in a low-stress environment. Once created, the space will be available for use by the public, students, and the YMCA bicycle program, and can still be used as overflow parking during events.
Traffic parks are a great place to teach kids to ride. When kids learn traffic rules when they are young, they will likely become better, safer users of the transportation system when they get older.
A “bicycle rodeo” or traffic skills event was hosted on June 15th, 2025 to kick-off the project. The event offered basic bicycle safety education. A few bicycles were available and participants brought their own and helmets were given away.
Want to learn more about traffic gardens? Here is a great website with a map of locations. Here is a traffic garden guide from Safe Routes Philly and a Traffic Playground Toolkit from Metro Portland we are reviewing for inspiration and best practices.
This activity was funded by the New York State Department of Health Creating Healthy Schools & Communities Grant, administered by the City of Kingston.
