PARK(ing) Day will help us re-imagine public space
Posted by Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor) on September 15th, 2010 at 10:19 am
(Photo: Rebar Group)
This Friday the Portland region will take part in the annual, worldwide event called PARK(ing) Day. The idea behind the event is for people to create livable, natural spaces where people usually park motor vehicles. Rebar, a non-profit group in San Francisco, started the event in 2005.
According to a Google Map being hosted by The Intertwine (a regional coalition of parks and trail groups hosted by Metro), there are currently 33 locations throughout our region — including Gresham, Lake Oswego, Washington County and Vancouver — that will host PARK(ing) Day projects. Here’s the map:
View Intertwine PARK(ing) Day Parks in a larger map
In Portland, Hotel Monaco will host a bike ride to some of the mini-parks. Pedal Bike Tours will lead the 45 minute, family-friendly tour that will be followed by lunch. A $5 donation to the Trust for Public Land is suggested. If you’d like to join the ride, meet at Hotel Monaco (506 SW Washington) by noon on Friday (9/17).
To learn more about PARK(ing) Day, watch the video below, browse the official website, and see the local parks at TheIntertwine.org.
PARK(ing) Day: User-Generated Urbanism from Brandon Bloch on Vimeo.
Are you participating in PARK(ing) Day? Promote your location in the comments!
Come visit us (Metro and the Lloyd TMA) at 825 NE Multnomah this Friday. We’ll be creating a park that celebrates biking and walking. Enjoy free refreshments and kick back in the grass.
RecommendedAlta Planning + Design, in collaboration with ReTrow (http://retrow.org/), will have a park in front of our office on SE Grand Ave between Morrison and Alder. Stop by to make a wish for the neighborhood, learn the best walking and bicycling routes for getting to the Morrison Bridge bike/pedestrian path, and check out our park made from reused, borrowed, and recycled materials.
Thanks to Friends of Trees, the ReBuilding Center, River City Bicycles, Cargo, Jay Leary, the Intertwine, and more.
RecommendedSorry, wrong emphasis: RetROW
RecommendedWe are allready short on parking spaces downtown. This is just nuts. How would you like it if some bozo came and dumped a load of dirt in the middle of the bike coral?
Recommended“We are allready short on parking spaces downtown.”
We’re not short of parking, we’re long on cars.
“How would you like it if some bozo came and dumped a load of dirt in the middle of the bike coral?”
Well if it really was a bozo I’d be annoyed. But this isn’t a bozo, this is a political statement, and a beautiful one, to boot. You should’ve been at the Belmont Street Fair. Nothing attracts folks (many of whom surely drive–perhaps even to the Fair–) like an expanse of cool grass in the middle of the intersection.
I’m not sure about bike corals though. The former are on the increase while the latter are bleaching the world over.
Recommendedso is someone waiving enforcement of city ordinance 16.20.170?
Recommendedhttp://www.portlandonline.com/auditor/index.cfm?c=28591&a=16049
9watts-
RecommendedWould you rather cars don’t go downtown? Try and explain that one to the retailers when they are hanging up their “Out of business” signs.
Or maybe Bozo could go explain it.
The City is authorized to issue permits for special events by City Ordinance 16.20.500
(“General parking permits may be issued to reserve public right-of-way areas for use by designated parties.”) and 16.20.560 Special Use Permits:
(“Permitted uses may include: crane placement or operation, bus loading, mobile medical facilities, funeral vehicles, wedding vehicles, special events…”)
The PARK(ing) Day sites through Intertwine have been issued permits by the City.
Recommendedokay, so no impromptu parklets are invited
Recommendedcan i bring my dog?
RecommendedCheck us out in front of Mississippi Pizza!
RecommendedCar free shopping areas sound great to me. I’ve shopped in several pedestrian malls and businesses thrive in them.
RecommendedI want to see you pull up to macy’s and have them load a sofa, or a mattress on the back of your bike
RecommendedJim, Why so angry? It is one day. A little extra green around town won’t hurt anybody. Not even you.
Recommendedjim, jim, jim…what ever on earth did people do before cars were so prevalent?
Life isn’t about what you can consume, but what you allow or prevent from consuming you….
25% of your yearly income goes to support your auto “habit”. %50 more land is used for roads than housing…
a car emits its own weight in carbon monoxide in its first (ie, least polluting) year of operation.
wallet, homes, enviornment…how much is it really worth to not just sit on the floor?
RecommendedWe’ll be setting up a PARK on Belmont adjacent the 33rd ave. bike corral.
This is the first year I’ve gotten a bonafide permit, under the Intertwine umbrella …
The last couple of years have been “impromptu parklets”!!
Go for it.
RecommendedFreemen-
RecommendedBefore bikes we had horses that emited more than their weight in… well poo
Jim, here in Little Beirut they don’t care about people losing their businesses. Haven’t you figured that out yet?
RecommendedUmmm Jim…
http://tinyurl.com/255m2rv
Jim said…
RecommendedI want to see you pull up to macy’s and have them load a sofa, or a mattress on the back of your bike
http://sfcitizen.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/IMG_9859.jpg
RecommendedHere is the Columbian coverage of PARKing Day in Vancouver.
http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/sep/18/parking-day-turns-asphalt-green/
Recommendedre comment 13
Recommendedhttp://www.bikesatwork.com/bicycle-delivery-service/furniture-moving.html
are-
RecommendedThank you for sharing. I am always intriqued by peoples creative out of the box thinking (hauling stuff on ingenious contraptions, not putting dirt in parking spots). I have stoped many times and had long conversations with people doing this stuff, it’s really great to know that there is a service for those that don’t want to take it on their own….
For the most part most of us are going to use a truck to move our furniture and stuff.. There are a million reasons for people to end up in downtown portland, a shop owner unloading some merchandise, a plumber or cable guy…..
You can’t go forward by going backwards. Don’t mess with the parking spots, it’s part of our infrastructure.
People take public street parking in Portland all the time. Construction crews, film crews, event programmers, etc. I know film crews are required to contact all merchants and residents on impacted areas beforehand. It’s always been a source of friction for a minority of people adjacent to the lost parking. From what I’m reading though, the businesses themselves are using the parking.
RecommendedThats why we need the parking spots to be there- so we can use them. What are you going to do if you have to unload sheetrock for the next 6 hrs and there are no parking spots? Those spots aren’t just free either, they pay to have those tied up.
RecommendedFilm crews can take over whole streets or bridges let alone just parking spots.
These people are using the parking spots in a legitimate manner that is a benifit for us.
Putting dirt in a parking spot is just another bonehead move that adds to stiffling the economy. Someone said it is just for 1 day, I think the wish is for it to be everyday