The article highlights the issues of ensuring the safety of imperial country residences in Tsarskoye Selo, Peterhof, Gatchina and Pavlovsk in the early 20th century, due to the advent of mechanical means of transportation in Russia. The publication of special rules was associated not only with the need to prevent potential attempts on the royal family members’ lives, but also with the increased technical danger of cars, as regularly documented by reports of incidents along the routes of the highest dignitaries. Initially adopted by each of the palace administrations independently, in 1907-1908 the mandatory rules for driving cars through the palace towns and parks became uniform. With the outbreak of the First World War, due to the appearance of infirmaries, warehouses and charitable institutions in palace towns and parks, and the deployment of military teams, the territory of suburban residences became more open to travel. Although the mandatory decrees remained in force, they were sometimes ignored by the appearance order, and sometimes changed by oral orders from members of the imperial family. Thus, automobile traffic through the palace gardens and parks contributed to the desacralization of the tsarist government and the public "development" of the monarchical space.