First Bike Garden in Orange County Opens Up at Horizons on the Hudson

On Monday, June 5, 2023 officials from the Orange County Departments of Planning and Health, along with Newburgh Enlarged City School District and the Dept of Small Interventions unveiled an interactive bicycle garden, a series of miniature streets that simulates road conditions with different traffic scenarios for Horizons-on-the-Hudson Students to learn bicycle safety in a previously unused parking lot at the Horizons-on-the-Hudson Elementary School. This is the first bicycle garden in Orange County.

In 2020, while drafting the Bicycle Action Plan for City for Newburgh, which surveyed the public’s top places and routes for creating a bicycle network in the City, the idea for a safe controlled environment for children to practice the rules of the road and develop confidence to navigate signs, streets, intersections, roundabouts, and crosswalks was born. The project team worked with school officials to reimagine an underutilized parking lot near the gymnasium to design and install a bicycle garden. With the help of a local engineering firm, Creighton Manning, the scaled streetscape was designed to contain several components cyclists may encounter in the real-world: a roundabout, intersections, crosswalk,
and sharp turns! This streetscape was just the base layer for local artist Ed Manner and his apprentice, Trevor Cortes-Lozado, to infuse with vibrant, engaging colors and playful features. Adjacent to the bike garden are posters, designed by local graphic designer, Hael V. Stewart-Fisher, outlining the basics of bicycle maintenance and a reminder about important rules of the road.

Also in 2020, the Orange County Creating Healthy Schools and Communities grant funded the purchase of 30 bicycles for the Newburgh Enlarged City School District for use at the Horizons-on-Hudson Elementary School. The bicycle fleet included bicycle racks for storage, maintenance tools and equipment, mini traffic cones, and safety gear including helmets and bicycle lights. A Walk Safe, Bike Safe Elementary School Physical Education Curriculum, developed by the New York Bicycle Coalition was also provided. Through this curriculum, students learn about traffic safety rules and their rights and responsibilities as walkers, bicycle drivers and future motor vehicle operators.

The bicycle garden project is part of an even larger effort. The CHSC team has worked closely with the City of Newburgh via its Transportation Advisory Committee and Planning & Development Office on many successful transportation initiatives including the passage of complete streets legislation to encourage safer roads and pathways in the City of Newburgh. The Horizons-on-the-Hudson Bike Garden is reserved for HOH students. Public access may be available during scheduled events.

 A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO:

Gillian Matos, Principal of Horizons-on-the-Hudson School

Karriem Bunce, Assistant Principal of Horizons-on-the-Hudson School

Robert Glowacki, Principal of Gidney Avenue Memorial School (former Principal, Horizons-on-the-Hudson)

Hael V. Stewart-Fisher, Graphic Designer
Ed Manner, Artist

Trevor Cortes-Lozado, Artist Apprentice
Starke W. Hipp, Project Engineer, Creighton Manning
Naomi Hersson-Ringskog, Dept of Small Interventions
Jessica Ridgeway, Senior Planner, Orange County Department of Planning 

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ATTENTION: Are your scholars or colleagues doing something great? Please contact the district Communications Team at communications@necsd.net. We’d love to visit your class or event and/or post your pictures and recap to highlight the amazing accomplishments throughout our district!