Peace and Planning

It’s not often that you have a dream for something that you know will bring joy, play, and connection to your neighborhood and then have the opportunity to bring the vision to life. Last weekend I had the extraordinary opportunity to install a pop-up traffic garden on a closed-off street as part of an annual community event and it exceeded my wildest expectations.

It’s hard to pick a favorite moment:

– amazing high school volunteers from a local charter school helping install the garden (one of whom I overheard say, “I’ve never had more fun getting my volunteer hours,” a second was so pleased with how great the “pop-up traffic garden” sign she hung up looked that she took pictures of it, and a third who delighted in the chance to put his creative talents to work by adding lovely chalk art to our garden)

– kids toppling over as they learned to ride or try new things and simply…getting up and wheeling on with smiles on their faces

– precisely *one* collision, after which the kid who tumbled over stood up, fist bumped the other kid involved, and said, “my bad, bro”…and then they merrily rolled along

– half a dozen little ones offering to help remove tape at the end of the event because they simply wanted to (which they did with zeal and good cheer)

(I will leave you guessing which one made me tear up…)

I think perhaps what I treasured most, though, was the opportunity to actually *see* kids from my neighborhood out and about doing kid things. My worries of no one showing up – because I very rarely see kids around – were quickly put to rest as dozens of young riders (who ostensibly lived within a 15-minute walk) joined in the fun.

I felt a bit sheepish because as the afternoon progressed, I was pulled in various directions and – being short on volunteers – wasn’t always able to “enforce the rules.” And yet, I must admit I was gratified to see kids playing without feeling like they were doing anything “wrong” – in fact, it seemed they intuited what “shared streets” could be. Even though there were older and more confident riders alongside younger and less experienced riders, those riding at faster speeds seemed to be able to be mindful of their movement and take care to give slower riders space.

I left simultaneously elated and deflated – elated to watch kids who didn’t know each other figure out shared streets in two hours, deflated to realize the only reason it felt remarkable is that we’d manufactured the one block in the neighborhood where it could happen for just two hours. May this plant a seed that someone in the future can nurture into something permanent 🌱

I’ll be sharing some exciting news soon but in the meantime, I invite you to get curious – what comes to mind when you envision a more peaceful transportation system? ☮️🚸