Bike Towns in Boston
We are creating more safe places for kids to learn and practice riding bikes.
“Biking is more than just a fun way to stay active, it’s a great way to get around and a crucial life skill - one that all of our young people deserve the opportunity to develop”
- Mayor Michelle Wu
WHY WE ARE DOING THIS
Many Boston families do not have access to safe places to learn and practice riding bikes.
Biking helps kids be active, explore their neighborhood, and develop important life skills. Through programs like Connect, Learn, Explore and the Boston Youth Cycling Program, the City is collaborating with community partners to provide the resources and support so every Boston kid has the opportunity to learn to ride a bike.
Research shows that the majority of students who participate in learn-to-ride bike programs are interested in continuing riding but many families do not have access to safe places to ride. We've heard from community leaders and partners that a lack of safe places for kids to ride bikes is one of the biggest barriers to providing bike education and programming for kids in Boston.
To help make Boston a home for everyone and achieve the City's transportation goals and targets set forth in Go Boston 2030, we need to provide Boston's future commuters - our youth - with safe places to learn and develop bike and road safety skills.
WHAT ARE BIKE TOWNS
Bike towns - also known as "traffic gardens" - are miniature street networks where kids can learn and practice riding bikes in a safe, car-free and delightful environment.
These small-sized street networks, often with scaled-down traffic features, can be found in cities around the world and provide families, teachers, and community organizations with living laboratories to teach children at a young age how to ride bikes and safely navigate urban street systems. Bike towns can help:
- Teach children essential bike-riding skills to promote active and safe transportation
- Educate community members, especially children, about road safety practices
- Increase children’s confidence in their ability to safely navigate city streets
Bike Town at Moakley Park
Bike Town at Moakley Park was a collaboration between several city departments to create Boston's first traffic garden. It was completed in August 2024 and helped transform an underutilized former street hockey court into a vibrant space for family-friendly recreation at Moakley Park in South Boston near Carson Beach.
CREATE YOUR OWN BIKE TOWN
Pop-up or temporary bike towns are a cheap and easy way to create dedicated spaces for kids to learn and practice bike riding with simple tools and removable materials.
We created a design and installation guide to help residents, teachers, and community organizations create their own temporary bike towns in Boston. We hope that by sharing this guide, you will join us in making a more family-friendly Boston by creating more safe spaces for kids to ride bikes!
