New traffic garden coming to Red Bank this summer
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — The city of Red Bank and White Oak Bicycle Co-Op are teaming up to open a new traffic garden
The new park plan for the city of Red Bank promotes biking.
This led to the creation of the traffic garden.
Jeffrey Grabe is the Parks & Recreation Manager for the city of Red Bank.
He says, “The community is looking to have safer biking routes, more trails, more connectivity and multi modal. The traffic garden really gives the community a space to learn some of those skills before traveling the community. Before trying to bike to different parks or park to park or before going on things like the White Oak Trail or Springers Ridge.”
A traffic garden will help increase biking skills.
Grabe says, “Young children or beginner bikers get a skill set to be able to bike in different areas in a safer capacity is really important. Partners like White Oak Bicycle Co-Op who are not only giving bikes out to the community but are running safety programs so that kids and newbie bikers can learn.”
White Oak Bicycle Co-Op is behind this new traffic garden.
Ben Richards is the Operations Director for White Oak Bicycle Co-Op.
He says, “A traffic garden is just a miniature street cape that is safe and car free for beginner riders to have an introduction to bike for transportation, or bike in our city roads in a safe manner. There will be stop signs, rail crossings, a roundabout, right and left lanes, basically a fun place for kids to learn and get an introduction on how our city streets work.”
Teaching people how to bike makes it safer for everyone.
Richards says, “Biking is freedom. It is the step between walking and driving a car. It is a faster mode of transport. A big part of our work at White Oak is actually fixing up bikes for transportation for our unhoused and refugee communities here in Chattanooga. A lot of the things I see is that these adults don’t know how to bike in our city roads in a safe manner.”
The Traffic Garden will be next to Fire Station 2 in Red Bank.
It will hopefully be open around May.
