Temporary parks are popping up all around Seattle (.pdf map here). Today is a global event called “PARK(ing)” day, sponsored locally by Feet First, and is an event where parks “grow” out of parking spots. SDOT has a temporary park just in front of the library on 22nd Ave NW from 9 a.m. to 3p.m. “People can stop by and make small reusable bags with pedestrian safety messages, learn more about our Pedestrian Master Plan, draw with sidewalk/street chalk and relax for a bit,” Dawn Schellenberg with SDOT says.
Temporary ‘park’ pops up in Ballard
Feet first when you have two working parents, both with downtown jobs, and two school age kids?
I know SDOT has become an easy target, but it continues to crack me up that they advocate bikes, walking, and mass transit, when they themselves are the worst abusers of single user vehicles. For instance, on Thursday, along the Burke-Gilman section just west of the Locks, there were four huge SDOT trucks that carried no more than 5 SDOT landscaping employees. Last year I sent a note to the mayor which got forwarded to the SDOT director, complaining about the abundance of trucks and few people doing this same work. I mean, can't they carpool? The director shot back an email telling me “the landscapers come from different places.” Yeah, I thought, the idea of carpooling is to meet at a central location…but I guess the City's attitude is do as I say not as I do.
Sure, driving is a necessity for many people. We aren't going to get rid of cars. But I still think this is a cute idea. Some of these mini parks can be very creative.
And I'm all for 'pedestrian safety messages.'
“People can stop by and make small reusable bags with pedestrian safety messages, learn more about our Pedestrian Master Plan, draw with sidewalk/street chalk and relax for a bit,”….
Saddest little event ever.
I'm having a tough time reconciling encouraging congregating in the street with pedestrian safety. I see acres of useless to cars pavement in our community in which these temporary micro parks could be put up, that would be (a) inspirations for permanent green space (b) be safe (c) still encourage us out of the single occupant vehicle mode of thinking.
Over the summer, I saw one scooters and one empty stroller) in parking spaces get run into because the parking drivers didn't expect to see anything other than a car in the spot and just pulled right in. Yes… inattentive driving. But it's a short leap to imagine someone being run over in one of these street parks.
Take a look at what's being put into these spaces and you wouldn't be worried. They can be very elaborate. Nobody is going to mistakenly park there.
Nobody is suggesting completely getting rid of the car. It's more like not being entirely dependent on the car for every single little trip. I see my neighbors using their car to head to the Safeway which is a whopping 4 blocks away. Sorry but that's just plain lazy (and yes, I do have kids). One reason our nation is so obese is because people are too lazy to walk or ride places.
I'd like to think that but given the number of times drivers have run into buildings, telephone poles, trees, etc. I'm not too optimistic! ;)
Yikes. Good point.