On September 17, the world celebrated the 5th annual PARK(ing) Day.
While I admire the festive nature of the event, I applaud social gatherings that bring the community together, and I support artistic expression, I still have mixed feelings about PARK(ing) Day.
According to the parkingday.org website, “PARK(ing) Day is a annual open-source global event where citizens, artists and activists collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spaces into ‘PARK(ing)’ spaces: temporary public places.”
“The project began in 2005 when Rebar, a San Francisco art and design studio, converted a single metered parking space into a temporary public park in downtown San Francisco,” the site continues. “Since 2005, PARK(ing) Day has evolved into a global movement, with organizations and individuals (operating independently of Rebar but following an established set of guidelines) creating new forms of temporary public space in urban contexts around the world.”
Paul Barter of reinventingparking.org makes a great point in his recent blog, saying, “I suspect that most people DON’T really think of ‘feeding the parking meter’ as some kind of rental payment for real-estate space.”
The question is: does PARK(ing) Day remind them of the value of parking? Or does it make them forget?
Parkingday.org goes on, “The mission of PARK(ing) Day is to call attention to the need for more urban open space, to generate critical debate around how public space is created and allocated, and to improve the quality of urban human habitat.”
Why did they choose parking spaces to make this point? Are parking spaces the perfect example of wasted space that should be reallocated to public parks? The implication seems to be that too much urban space is devoted to parking and not enough to public spaces. While I agree that public spaces are vital to a positive and healthy urban environment, people still have to park their cars.
Parkingday.org says the event re-values “the metered parking space as an important part of the commons – a site for generosity, cultural expression, socializing and play.”
I suggest it was an important and valued part of the commons before they put a playground or garden in it. Without that parking space, many visitors to the commons would not be enjoying the public space anyway. They would be thinking about one thing: where am I going to park my car?
Pete Goldin
Wow, a World Parking Day? I didn't even know there was one.
Posted by: Asphalt Paving | 08 October 2010 at 05:02 AM
Parking is something that we all take for granted.
Posted by: parking lot striping | 28 September 2010 at 01:06 AM