ATLANTA — Students on bikes and wearing helmets circle a mini roundabout behind Heritage Academy Elementary School in Atlanta as part of a new hands-on safety program.
The Atlanta Department of Transportation partnered with the school to create a “traffic garden,” a playground-like course featuring stoplights, street signs and intersections where students can practice biking and walking safely.
Heritage Academy has opened what officials describe as the city’s first traffic garden.
For fifth grader Dylan Harvey, the space is already a favorite.
“I was going to be able to ride my bike to school. I’d want to know how it feels before I actually try. So, this garden is going to help with that,” Harvey said.
Harvey said he made a deal with his mother allowing him to bike to school, and the traffic garden is helping him prepare.
Students are allowed to use the space during physical education classes, after school and during summer programming, officials said following Wednesday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Atlanta Department of Transportation Commissioner Solomon Caviness said the goal is to expand similar traffic gardens across schools and parks as part of the city’s Vision Zero initiative, which aims to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries.
“Eventually, they’ll be the ones behind the wheel and having to interact with folks who are biking, walking and rolling,” Caviness said.
Safe Routes to School Program Manager Nichole Hollis said officials also hope to incorporate the space more directly into the school curriculum and expand community access over time.
“We are opening it up to the community so residents can come and be a part of this traffic garden,” Hollis said.
The Atlanta chapter of the nonprofit Free Bikes 4 Kidz provided bicycles for students to use in the program.
Officials said the Atlanta Department of Transportation selected Heritage Academy due to safety challenges in the surrounding area, which ranks No. 13 in the city.
Transportation officials said more traffic gardens are planned at schools and parks across the Atlanta area.
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