ReadysetDC A CREATIVE URBAN ENTERPRISE

September 18 is Park(ing) Day DC — Does That Mean Anything to You? Yay!

(Editor’s note: This post is to clarify the… um… slight inaccuracies of the City Paper blog post. I don’t want to have to ever click strikethrough again. )

Photo by JessyeAnne

Posted by Ruth Samuelson Justin Young

(Special thanks to Rebar for starting Park(ing) Day 4 years ago!)

It probably shouldn’t at this point. “Park(ing) Day” has never been done before in D.C., and the pun’s a little muddled and confusing. But here’s the gist: but the concept is pretty simple: People turn parking spaces into mini parks, which end up looking a little something like this. The purpose of this is to bring awareness to how we use public space in our cities and how to use it to make our urban neighborhoods more livable, environmentally sustainable and beautiful. New York City and San Francisco and Austin, Denver, Vancouver, Florence, Rome, Berlin and many, many more cities around the globe residents have tested out the park(ing) day concept before. are participating in Park(ing) Day and have transformed an experimental project into an international phenomenon. You can view a map of these cities here.

You may have a few questions at this point: Why would anyone do that? Am I going to have trouble parking that day? Who’s great idea is this? Why has it taken 4 years to come to DC? And where can I see these supposed parks in parking spaces?

See the following interview write-up based on a two short phone calls with organizers Brandon Schmittling and Justin Young for responses:

What is the great symbolic point of Park(ing) Day DC—since clearly there’s got to be one, right?

Right! “The entire day should be seen as an exercise,” says Schmittling. “It’s really an experiment to get people thinking about what is the sidewalk? What is the street? And what lies beneath between (misquote)?  And what are the different ways we can use it…I think this coupled with Car Free Day might remind people–hey I just don’t have to be on the sidewalk, I can be in the street. Well, it’s mostly experimental—how ’bout that?”

Yes. Organizers have applied for four parking space permits. That’s all. While there will be many more spaces next year, there will still not be enough sod and planters in the entire metropolitan area to possibly cover the amount of public space dedicated to the storing of private automobiles in DC, so this is a truly unnecessary question.

Where will the parks (within parking spaces) be located?

Georgetown, U Street, Gallery Place, and Adams Morgan—check the website for specific space locations and maps.

So this is really happening, huh?

Maybe. The permits haven’t actually been approved yet, say Young and Schmittling.

DDOT is reviewing the concept, which is obviously unprecedented here. “When I showed them the plans that we had, they had concerns about cars not seeing the parking space. And perhaps someone trying to park in the space next to people and hitting people.” Organizers have turned in plans, which are currently being reviewed by D.C. officials. The event’s supposed to happen a week from tomorrow, so obviously the clock’s ticking.We are still currently going back and forth with the city about the specifics of our plan, but Gabe Klein and others at DDOT are very excited about this event. Myself, Brandon and Chris Loos are working very hard to make this a success!

Videos below of the new Broadway and Park(ing) Day NYC 2008: