ORONO – Captain Linwood Green of the Orono Police Department has always had a fascination with kid-size pedal cars.

This summer, in an all-day program called Orono Streets of Safety, Green and other members of the police department will show roadway safety to kids in grades K through five by using cars propelled by pedals.

The cars will drive around a “safety city,” a small-scale system of roadways to be set up in the Asa Adams Elementary School parking lot. The city will incorporate crosswalks, traffic lights and roads with and without sidewalks.

“As some kids are driving the cars and learning to stop for pedestrians, other kids will be walking and learning how to cross at intersections and crosswalks,” Green said. “Then everyone rotates and tries something new.”

The idea for the safety city came about not long after Green got his first pedal car as an adult – a 1941 Chrysler. While doing some research on pedal cars, he found a picture from 1950 of kids using pedal cars to learn traffic safety in Phoenix, Ariz.

Green called Norm Pourier, director of parks and recreation, and pitched the idea to him.

“He said he’d be tickled to death to co-sponsor and set this up,” Green said.

Green worked with Officer Josh Ewing to find sponsors for the cars, which cost between $100 and $200.

The smaller cars, which will support a 5-, 6- or 7-year-old, resemble classic cars. Murray’s Service Center sponsored a 1929 Ford, the Orono Town Council has sponsored a car resembling a Buick from the 1950s and Atlantic Communications has sponsored a pedal car that looks like a 1965 Mustang. Open-top pedal cars that resemble go-karts will be used for the bigger kids.

“That’s one of the great things I’ve found out about this community,” Green said. “You go to them and ask for support for a project like this and they won’t hesitate. Without their support, the best we could do is teach road safety in an indoor setting.”

If the event goes well, Green hopes to make it an annual event.

Orono Streets of Safety is planned for mid-July. Businesses or individuals interested in sponsoring a car may call Capt. Green at 866-4000 or Norm Pourier at 866-5065.