Have you noticed how much of Little Rock is dedicated to the transport and storage of cars? This number is typically more than 70% of a city’s land-use, leaving much less space for people.
Introducing Park(ing) Day. This annual event for people to reclaim urban space from cars – one parking stall at a time.
How to Participate
- Get together a small team and dream up a concept for a space you want to create. Consider how you want people to engage with you in the space. Sit and relax? Play music? A friendly competition of chess or ping pong? Create art?
- Identify a public parking space. Things to consider for your space include:
- Public safety. Avoid high traffic volume streets with speeds greater than 25 mph. Also avoid having your space near an intersection.
- High visibility. Ideally its in a place that has a good amount of foot traffic; walkable, bikeable, near local businesses and/or cultural institutions (see too if they want to get involved!).
- Park legally. Avoid spots with a time limit indicated for the zone (e.g. 2 hours), loading or service vehicle zone, and ADA parking space. Pay for your parking space if there’s a meter.
- Gather the materials for your space. Here’s a guide to help get started.
- On Saturday, September 21 activate your parklet! Be sure to take tons of photos and tag @our.little.rock and @parkingday of all the fun you are having!
But wait... there's more!
We are going to sweeten this effort and up the ante a little with a good old fashioned contest. The parklet that is voted to be the crowd favorite will win FOUR VIP TICKETS to the IMMERSIVE VAN GOGH EXPERIENCE!
Why Little Rock?
So much of Little Rock is dedicated to underutilized parking lots. They create dead space throughout our city. Parking increases housing and development costs and often require tearing down nearby developments to accommodate cars.
This day is to highlight the joy, human connections, and street life that can be created by simply repurposing space once reserved for a private vehicle and empowering the local community to use the space in ways they would like to.
For more background and information on what can be done for parking reform in Little Rock, be sure to read Gillian Gullet’s Clinton School Capstone Paper, Parking Reform in Downtown Little Rock, with some incredible action steps for us to put into action.
More About Park(ing) Day
Little Rock isn’t the only place with too much space dedicated to cars. In fact, this day was dreamt up in San Francisco in 2005. Here’s the full origin story.
They have created wonderful resources to inspire and assist others across the country to follow suit. Please consider supporting their organization and efforts via their donation page here.
Want to Get Involved In More?
Our Little Rock is also hosting Week Without Driving from September 30 – October 6 to elevate the lived experiences of people who cannot or do not drive a car in Little Rock. Learn more and take the pledge here.
