Open to Public for Use
Santa Fe, NM – In an effort to improve Traffic Safety Culture in New Mexico, the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) launched a campaign to boost awareness, this October, during Pedestrian Safety Month. One of the activities from the campaign is the creation of a Traffic Safety Garden located on the NMDOT campus in Santa Fe. The garden was officially opened with the help of Cabinet Secretary Serna and the preschool class from Little Explorers Child Development Center. The traffic safety garden is located off Cerrillos Road near building SB-1 and is open to the public throughout the month.
A traffic garden is a mini transportation system, where children can practice positive traffic safety behaviors in a safe space away from the traveling public. Using play as an educational tool, children can learn and practice behaviors that will protect them, such as using crosswalks, looking both ways for oncoming traffic, recognizing stop and yield signs, and facing traffic while walking.
The NMDOT designed traffic garden is made with spaces commonly seen on New Mexico roads—intersections with and without marked crosswalks, railroad crossings, roads without sidewalks, and roundabouts. In a small space, children learn how to be good pedestrians and bicyclists, and develop good behaviors for driving, later in life.
“Ingraining positive traffic safety habits in children is an important part of the behavior change New Mexico needs. Children will become future drivers, and more immediately they’ll encourage their parents to adopt these behaviors behind the wheel,” said Cabinet Secretary Serna. He continued, “Pedestrian Safety Month is a great opportunity for our community to focus on early development of behaviors, which protect our vulnerable pedestrians.”
Target Zero
NMDOT launched Target Zero, an initiative that brings together our internal work, partners with other state agencies, and amplifies behavioral change campaigns to move New Mexico to zero traffic fatalities by 2050.