PARKing Day photos...

[turil.livejournal.com]

Around the corner from Davis, most of the day, along Mass Ave from Day street all the way down to ATA Cycles, past Porter, are a smattering of groups taking over parking spaces and turning them into parks, with more or less rates of success. :-) There is rumored to be Blues Dancing in front of the Porter Square Galaria (where the Lesley Bookstore, City Sports, and all the Japanese fast food places are) in the evening. The Hoop Troop/SCUL folks are in front of Bob Slate, at the corner of Beech Street.

Comments

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

Since this is a day of misusing public land for unapproved purposes, is it ok with you guys if I set up a campsite on the Red Line tracks, and park my car on the beach at Walden Pond?

[veek.livejournal.com]

Ouch!

Oh wait, this was approved! Ah well, your snark was well done anyway.

[ocschwar.livejournal.com]

Because clearly, the only respectable use for a parking spot is to park cars. Anything else is blasphemy.

[bombardiette.livejournal.com]

Um, yes. It is. That's why it's called a parking spot. But clearly, sanctimonious hippies think that we don't have enough traffic congestion in Boston and the exurbs and sought to rectify that by taking already limited parking space to demonstrate the evils of driving.

[bombardiette.livejournal.com]

Just lie down...it'll all be OK in a bit.

[ocschwar.livejournal.com]

I'll have you know, I am actually a money grubbing yuppie, not a hippie, and my less than immaculate grooming is because I am flaunting my lack of any need to care, not because I think body odor is a tool for making the world a better place.

And I also think there are better uses for all this public space than parking cars, which costs way more money just for the asphalt than it brings into the city through meter rates. Again, not because I'm a hippie, but because I'm yuppie enough to have gone to Europe and been impressed.

[visage.livejournal.com]

...and here I thought you were just perpetually running for UMOC.

[ocschwar.livejournal.com]

One day, that title, which is rightfully mine, will be mine!

[koloratur.livejournal.com]

Which car-less European cities were you most impressed with? Just curious.

[ocschwar.livejournal.com]

Amsterdam is certainly a contender, but I was actually more impressed with rural Austria. That country is still very much automobile country, but most of their roads aren't even 2 lanes. One lane only. If two cars in opposite directions come to each other, one of them has to duck into a driveway, or back up to the intersection to let the other through. It seems crazy, but the amount of money they save by not having to maintain so much roadway, is actually a major part of why they are so wealthy. They also save because with such meager roads, they don't have to have the hard core water filtering plants you see in the States. And those crazy narrow one lane roads are meticulous.

[charlwoo.livejournal.com]

Traffic won't be reduced as people move from cars to bicycles or public transit, but it will use our limited urban space more effectively.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

"Respectable" is one word for this. But a more apt one would be "obnoxious." Some ideas shouldn't advance beyond the "pun" stage.

[ocschwar.livejournal.com]

Oh, they've gone way beyond that. A Parking Day demo in NYC actually has led to some areas removing parking spots in favor of cafe seating.

[jere7my.livejournal.com]

You can also use them for temporary lawn chair storage, but only in winter.

[squirrelitude]

Haha, it's funny because you're pretending that the non-monetary benefits don't outweigh he monetary losses! :-D

[charlwoo.livejournal.com]

Permits were issued by the city of Cambridge for the use of these spots. So, it was approved.

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

those are so cool. (i love that all you really need to do to make a temporary park is unroll some sod. heh.) on the other hand, i'm really glad i don't need to park anywhere near there today.

[josephineave.livejournal.com]

The toughest thing is trying to figure out how to parallel park around one of these things. Do I turn when my front door hits the folding chair or the bike?

[joyfulkel.livejournal.com]

well done!

[rmd.livejournal.com]

Honestly, as long as they're paying the meter rate and not staying beyond the maximum time, I think think it's an occasional cute thing to have happen.

[turil.livejournal.com]

This was actually sponsored/organized by the city of Cambridge. So no, they didn't actually pay themselves. :-)

[rmd.livejournal.com]

That's even better. Not only does it not reduce the meter income for my city, it may even serve to displace people into paying meters in Somerville.

[charlwoo.livejournal.com]

The hoop troop fed the meter.

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

you want me to park on your lawn? okay!

[trtls.livejournal.com]

Very cool! I love the use of any and all public spaces for art and beauty. So much prettier than a car sitting there!

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

By the way, I *do* think that too much space has been devoted to cars in this country. But only in places built in the last 60 years.

The problem is suburban office parks, huge parking lots at Home Depot, and giant parking garages in Kendall Square, not parallel parking spots in walkable neighborhoods.

[smoterh.livejournal.com]

With all seriousness, is there a specific law in somerville where it says that only internal combustion engines must occupy a metered parking spot? Can one park a bicycle or in a parking spot? (legally?)