December 2022 - Parks & Recreation - 39

A young cyclist enjoys a ride on the
White Center Bike Playground in Seattle,
Washington.
traffic gardens. All materials were
carefully crafted to be developmentally
appropriate and model culturally
sensitive practices. Pre-K students
learned about
transportation
networks,
safety awareness in the built
environment and risk competence,
as well as gaining familiarity with
use of balance bikes. These activities
provided scaffolded learning for children
who will develop into second
graders required to participate in a
comprehensive District of Columbia
Public Schools bike education
program, " Biking in the Park. " For
current second graders, the traffic
gardens served as a bridge from the
classroom instruction to the end-ofsession
five- to six-mile bike ride on
D.C. streets to a local park.
Key to the success of this project
was an engaged team of stakeholders,
collaboration with the DDOT,
D.C. Public Schools and school
personnel, and intentional and ongoing
interactions with the school
communities. This was achieved
through school events, activities to
engage the community members in
production of felt boards for lessons,
volunteer action within the
schools, and celebrations surrounding
ribbon-cutting ceremonies.
Engaging children and the comdesign
of the
munity
in
traffic
gardens empowered them as civicminded
agents of change and impacted
their collective well-being.
" During COVID, the traffic garden
installations provided an ideal way
to get kids outdoors, practice biking
and bike safety, and interact as
a community, while maintaining
social distancing,
mask-wearing
and adherence to COVID protocols, "
says Lauren Hassel, former
Students and families at Maude Aiton
Elementary School in Washington, D.C.,
participate in a design charrette.
Safe Routes to School coordinator
for Arlington (Virginia) Public
Schools. " The traffic gardens also
allowed families to re-connect. "
Development of these traffic gardens
was found to change community
perceptions of safety and the
built environment. This is critical
to whether children spend more
time playing, interacting in the environment,
or walking or biking to
school. Creative and challenging
play, as well as physical activity,
contribute to children's cognitive,
social and emotional development
(e.g., enjoyment, conflict resolution,
resilience,
problem solving,
self-confidence and independence).
Further, exposing children to traffic
gardens as high-value and safe
learning and play spaces will help
them better maneuver the built
environment and engage in active
transportation, as well as ensure
patterns of enjoyment, healthy behavior,
improved equity through
access to the resources and amenities
of their community, inclusivity,
overall well-being, and sense of belonging.
The traffic gardens serve
as a mechanism for creating a better
world, one child at a time.
Ellen Drogin Rodgers, Ph.D., is Associate Dean, College of
Education and Human Development at George Mason
University (erodger1@gmu.edu). Fionnuala Quinn, B.E., is
Director at Discover Traffic Gardens (TrafficGardens.com).
Rick Holt, M.S., is Co-Founder/Researcher at Early Childhood
Mobility Coalition (kidswalkbike.com).
PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G | DECEMBER 2 0 22 | Parks & Recreation
39
PHOTO COURTESY OF FIONNUALA QUINN/
DISCOVER TRAFFIC GARDENS
PHOTO COURTESY OF CASCADE BICYCLE CLUB
http://www.TrafficGardens.com http://www.kidswalkbike.com
December 2022 - Parks & Recreation

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