Jardin du Petit monde à bicyclette

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Located in Montreal's Parc La Fontaine, Jardin du Petit monde à bicyclette* is a bicycle education park that introduces children aged 2 to 12 to cycling, motor skills and the rules of the road.

Discover the Jardin du Petit Monde by bicycle

Set to open in summer 2020 in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough, Jardin du Petit monde à bicyclette is one of the very first bicycle education parks to be created in Quebec.

This all-bike playground offers local children a small town on their own scale, with mini-panels and mini-streets to teach them how to pedal like grown-ups, as well as play modules to help them have fun and become more adept on two wheels. Designed with children in mind, the park allows them to tame the complexities of the road network without being exposed to the risks of real-life traffic.

Welcome to the Garden!

Le Jardin du Petit monde à bicyclette is located in the 3819 avenue Calixa-Lavallée, in the heart of Parc La Fontaine.

During the summer months, several services are offered to site users: animated activities for different age groups, free loan of scooters, draisies and bikes for children, picnic tables and bike racks. It is also possible to use the space independently, as long as the lighting permits, between May and October.

Follow our Facebook page for details of all our activities.

See the Jardin Facebook page

Video: Lëa-Kim Châteauneuf, CC BY:SA

The miniature city

A network of small-scale streets reproducing different types of facilities and situations to which cyclists are exposed. The miniature city features road markings and signs of reduced dimensions.

These include: a variety of bike lanes, one-way and two-way streets, different types of crosswalks and intersections with various types of signage, a shared street and a bike lane.

The skills zone

An area with modules of varying levels of difficulty, where children can exercise their cycling skills. Some modules are aimed at younger children, while others are designed for more advanced cyclists.

This zone also includes playful markings in attractive colors, inviting young cyclists to practice certain skills (slalom turns, moving from one point to another, etc.).

Thematic workshops

This area presents various safety concepts related to cycling: helmet use and adjustment, how to lock your bike, truck blind spots, how to make a left turn at an intersection, and the risks of entanglement.

These concepts are presented using signs that briefly explain the safety concept. Markings also provide visual support for certain explanations (e.g.: blind spots of a truck on the ground) or offer a space to put a concept into practice (e.g.: left turn with a line indicating the procedure).

The skateboard zone

Relaxed mini-skatepark with a variety of small modules for youngsters and beginners.

This zone is offered by JM Court, in partnership with the borough of Plateau-Mont-Royal. From July to September, JM Court and its qualified instructors offer free skateboarding lessons. Equipment available on loan (as needed). See schedule on JM Court Facebook page.

Bicycle loan counter

During the summer months, you can borrow free of charge bikes, scooters and draisiennes on site, thanks to the support of the borough of Le Plateau-Mont-Royal and the Caisse Desjardins du Plateau-Mont-Royal.

Equipment available:

scooters
draisiennes (balance bikes, without pedals)
14" bicycles, with or without small wheels
16", 20" and 24" bicycles
helmets of various sizes

From Sunday, May 18 to Sunday, October 12, 2025, you can borrow equipment:

Visit Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Visit Tuesdays and Thursdays:

-May and June: 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm

-July to October: 4 to 7 p.m.

Cycling in my neighborhood

The Centre sablon offers free activities for children aged 4 to 11 to raise awareness of road safety issues and develop motor skills while having fun.

Details to come for next season.

Toutes à vélo

It's never too late to learn to pedal! Le Jardin du Petit monde à bicyclette occasionally hosts women's cycling classes as part of Toutes à vélo, a Vélo Québec program.

The draisienne method

Would you like to learn to pedal, or help someone else get into the saddle? To make it easier, check out the draisienne method.

See the method

Designing a cycling education park

Would you like to set up a bicycle education park in your community? Vélo Québec's free guide can help you get started.

See the guide

Le Jardin du Petit monde à bicyclette stands out from the crowd

Novae 2021 Award The Novae Awards recognize and promote the 20 best innovations of the year.

Mobility Milestone 2020 Award The Jalon de la mobilité awards bring together and reward the players in our society who are helping to bring about change towards more sustainable mobility.

*Who is the Bicycle World?

The appellation Jardin du Petit monde à bicyclette refers to the famous activist group Le Monde à Bicyclette (MAB).

Founded in 1975 by Robert «Bicycle Bob» Silverman and bringing together the likes of Vicki Schmolka, Jacques Desjardins and Claire Morissette, the MAB is a pioneer in promoting urban cycling and defending the rights of cyclists in Montreal. These activists assert that «bicycling is not just a sport, it's transportation», and call for the implementation of infrastructures to enable safe circulation on city streets: bike parking, bike lanes, access to the metro by bike and adapted facilities on bridges.

The MAB quickly attracted public and media attention with its «cyclodramas»: demands whose seriousness always left plenty of room for humor and theatricality. Whether through negotiation or direct action, the MAB has made a major contribution to making Montreal a much more cyclist-friendly city. The MAB ceased operations in the early 2000s. A volunteer committee of the Cyclo Nord-Sud organization, Encore du Monde à Bicyclette, is responsible for preserving and promoting its archives, notably through a traveling exhibition in Montreal's Maisons de la culture.

From the MEM - Centre des mémoires montréalaises online encyclopedia, The world by bicycle: long live velorution!, by Monique Laforge.

Find out more about the travelling exhibition

Bicycle Vision 2025

Bicycle Vision 2025