KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Knoxville Police Department opened Safety City to the public on June 4.
Guests can bring bicycles, non-motorized scooters, strollers and wagons to ride through the miniature city.
"The objective of Safety City is to provide an early educational program for elementary school children (kindergarten-fourth grades)," Knoxville leaders said. "The program will teach children about vehicular, pedestrian, bicycle and fire safety."
Safety City works to to provide a hands-on safety education with a child-size setting complete with buildings, paved streets and sidewalks and working traffic signals and traffic signs.
"Students receive classroom instruction in basic pedestrian, vehicular, bicycle and fire safety," said the city. "Then, students are able to practice and demonstrate their safety skills in participatory activities on the Safety City site."
Other goals for Safety City include:
- To provide a creative and safe environment where elementary students will have the opportunity to increase their knowledge and skills in pedestrian, vehicular and bicycle safety
- To reduce injuries and deaths resulting from motor vehicular-related crashes
- To reduce injuries and deaths resulting from fire
- To provide other personal safety education programs as they develop
All riders are required to wear helmets, with no pets being allowed in the city. All children must be accompanied by an adult at all times, according to the website.
Safety City will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday in June and July. The city, however, will not be open on the Fourth of July.