Town of Onondaga opens Central New York’s first traffic garden for kids
The new traffic garden allows children to learn road safety in a fun, interactive environment.
The Town of Onondaga has opened Central New York’s first traffic garden at Santaro Park, 4979 Velasko Road, teaching children road safety through hands-on experience. Kids can navigate a scaled-down version of city streets, complete with traffic signals and road signs, while biking. Santaro Park carries a Syracuse mailing address but sits in the Town of Onondaga, outside the city line. CNYCentral reports the garden opened July 29 and that there is early talk of installing a similar garden in the City of Syracuse someday.
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The traffic garden instills essential road safety skills, providing a safe space for kids to learn responsible biking. This initiative supports community safety and promotes active transportation among youth.
Organizers hope the Santaro Park site becomes the first of many traffic gardens across Central New York, according to CNY News. The same report ties the project to anticipated traffic growth from the Micron semiconductor development and the Interstate 81 rebuild, along with rising bicycle and e-bike use among children.
The garden was built through a partnership that included the New York State Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, the Town of Onondaga, the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office and the Onondaga County Traffic Safety Advisory Board, along with community organizations and local businesses, according to CNY News. The Onondaga County Department of Transportation is not among the listed partners. Planned programming at the site includes bicycle rodeos, traffic safety events and Story Trail activities.
As Central New York prepares for the New York State Fair next month, the traffic garden adds to the list of community events. The fair will attract thousands, and free park-and-ride options will help families reach the fairgrounds without parking hassles. Those navigating the busy roads should stay updated on CNY road conditions and potential road closures.
Where to check for updates
For the latest on local events and traffic updates, residents can visit the Onondaga County website or check local news outlets. Staying informed will ensure a smooth experience during the busy summer season.
By The Numbers
- 1, the number of traffic gardens open in Central New York, the Santaro Park site in the Town of Onondaga, per CNY News and CNYCentral.
- 5, the public agencies partnered on the project: the New York State Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, the Town of Onondaga, the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office and the Onondaga County Traffic Safety Advisory Board.
- July 29, 2026, the day the traffic garden opened, per CNYCentral.
📷 Wikimedia / Wikipedia , Syracuse, New York , CC BY-SA 4.0 / Public Domain
Sources
- CNYCentral, CNY’s first Traffic Garden teaches kids rules of the road long before they drive.
- CNY News, Central New York Opens First-Ever Traffic Garden at Santaro Park.
- Town of Onondaga, Parks and Facilities, Santaro Park, 4979 Velasko Road.
Correction: An earlier version of this article said Central New York’s first traffic garden opened in Syracuse and that Onondaga County opened it. The traffic garden is at Santaro Park, 4979 Velasko Road, a Town of Onondaga park that carries a Syracuse mailing address but lies outside the city line, and it opened July 29, 2026. A City of Syracuse traffic garden is only in early discussion. This version also removes two sentences of quoted speech that were attributed to an unnamed representative of the Onondaga County Department of Transportation, an agency that is not among the project partners, and removes unsourced claims about new businesses and concert attendance that CNY Signal could not verify. Updated 2026-08-01.
