The Heart of New Ulm’s Safe Routes to School Action Team is inviting everyone to help bring New Ulm’s new Traffic Safety Playground to life at a Paint the Pavement event.

A traffic playground is a mini-street painted play space that provides children and families a fun space to practice safe walking, bicycling and scooting skills away from traffic. No real cars are allowed. A typical playground looks like a small version of a city’s streets, with travel lanes, crosswalks, stop signs, and places to visit like parks, businesses, schools and neighborhoods.

Starting Monday, Aug. 22 at 10 a.m., volunteers are needed to paint the pavement for the playground, which is located on the campus of the New Ulm Middle School and Jefferson Elementary at 414 S. Payne St. Painting will continue on the 23rd and 24th, and also on the 25th and 26th if needed. Volunteers can come and go anytime, so no matter how much time people have available, all help is appreciated. In case of inclement weather, painting will be postponed until weather allows.

Mural artist Greg Wimmer of Rochester will be onsite to oversee the painting. Wimmer has painted murals all over Minnesota and painted the Rochester Bicycle Playground. Refreshments and snacks will be provided for volunteers and there will be information on how to get involved with Safe Routes to School activities.

The painting event will also feature fun activities for kids, including a story stroll, where children and families can take a break and walk around the school and read a children’s book that will be set up around the school. Kids should bring their bicycles to get a free headlight and taillight and learn how they work.

The traffic safety playground is made possible by a grant from the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Boost funding initiative.