Photos of Park(ing) Day 2009

You can check out all the great picture so Park(ing) Day 2009 here. If you have any pictures you would like to add to this that you took, please, drop them our way. This is not a one time event and we hope to grow a healthy backlog of pictures as this event grows over the years.

Park(ing) Day - A HUGE Success!

I want to thank everyone that helped out to make Park(ing) Day 2009 - Bellingham the success it was! To all the volunteers, Stall Captains, and Parking Attendants, this event showed our community a new side to what their public spaces could be. Today they did not drive to work and see the same blank asphalt lined with cars and white paint. They stopped, thought, smiled, maybe were a little flummoxed, talked, engaged, discussed, and created an event that will most likely become an annual event to support our community and its best interests.

The Bellingham Herald will be running an article tomorrow. The link to it is here. Jared Paben of the Herald also posted some pictures of the setting up and the event itself.

Please check back here for an update of pictures, videos and stories. We took some great shots of onlookers, croqueters, and the mass of people that stopped by for lunch and after work! The organizers will be meeting up to edit the footage of interviews and reactions from passerbys. The comments were priceless and speaks to the urgency many in this community feel towards our downtown corridors and the production of livable streets.

We forsee great things for next year's event. We will be working on making it a larger community event that will expand on what was learned from this year's experiences.

From young to old, citizens were moved by what they saw and it truly made them think of what their town could be. Friends, let's work on making this a reality! We will see you next year and between now and then, please, take an active role in your community because it is we that make this city what it is.

Best,

Scott Pelton

"Head Parking Attendant"

See you tomorrow!

Folks, tomorrow is International Park(ing) Day an event we have all been waiting for and preparing for. A group of us will be taking a few trucks out to De Wilde's Nursery and grab our 1000 sqft. of sod (much prettier than asphalt, uh?). We plan to be setting up our parks around 11:30ish. If you have some extra time, want to get your hand on some sod and just have a great time, come one down to the corner of Holly St. and Cornwall. We could use your help to make this process efficient and a success!

Remember, check back here for updates on the successes and reactions to Park(ing) Day as well as photos of our time "parking" it!

News Flash: Cascadia Weekly article on Park(ing) Day

Amy Kepferle interviewed Seth and I last week for an article with the "Cascadia Weekly". Today it came out and she did a fantastic job relaying our interests to the community superbly as well as articulating what Park(ing) Day is. Go grab one, or read it here, and pass it along to friends. We are listed on the front page in bold and are on page 12.

Park(ing) Day is two days away and we have a lot to do: We will be organizing sod delivery, confirming homes for the sod post-event, and establishing stall themes. If you have an interest in ANY sod, please, contact us for pick up! We will not be wasting any of it.

News Flash: "The Cascadia Weekly" Covers Park(ing) Day

Remember to go grab your edition of "The Cascadia Weekly" tomorrow. Last week Seth and I did an interview for an article that will be coming out in that edition. We had a great lunch break at Bayou on the Bay discussing just how this event could influence our public spaces. Go grab one and spread the word!

Park(ing) Day is now, officially, legal!

As if there were any doubts, Park(ing) Day - Bellingham 2009, is now officially legal! We have every necessary city office signed off. A big thanks to our city officials and "Head Park(ing) Attendant" Seth Vidana for making this permitting process a success and keeping us on the straight and narrow. We look forward to seeing you on the 18th!

A Quick "How to" Guide for folks interested in park(ing) elsewhere

A How-To on Getting a Stall on your own for Park(ing) Day

On Sept. 18th, we'll be setting up for Park(ing) Day down on Cornwall and Holly. For those of you interested in joining us, all you need to do is show up with your Park(ing) Stall gear, set up, and kick down $20 to help us with the permit fees. Now, if some of you want to set up shop elsewhere in our lovely city, we've put together a little how-to. Mind you, it's not for the faint-hearted.

1) Write up a proposal describing the Park(ing) Day event with a list of businesses impacted by your park (the businesses directly in front for your Park(ing) Stall), the streets being used and the proposed time using them (I have posted an example of one here. Just alter it for your own street and times).

2) Contact each of the impacted businesses and get them to sign off on the proposal sheet.
3) Print out a "Temporary Right of Way Use Permit" from the City of Bellingham website: http://www.cob.org/services/permits/forms.aspx (under "Street" heading)

4) Take this proposal and business signatures to the Police Dept. to have them sign off on the "Temporary Right of Way Use Permit"http://www.cob.org/contact/police.aspx

5) Get the Fire Dept. to sign off on the "Temporary Right of Way Use Permit" http://www.cob.org/contact/fire.aspx
6) Get the WTA to sign off "Temporary Right of Way Use Permit" http://www.ridewta.com/

7) Get Public Works to sign off on the "Temporary Right of Way Use Permit" http://www.cob.org/contact/pw.aspx
8) Go to the Parking Office to rent a meter hood, if you'll be in metered parking. http://www.cob.org/contact/pw.aspx

8) Take the fully signed off "Temporary Right of Way Use Permit" to the Permitting Office with the business signatures stapled to the permit (and the receipt for your meter hood if you buy one.) http://www.cob.org/contact/pcd.aspx

Remember, you can always just come down and get a stall with us and not have to go through these hoops. (We'll have done it already!)

The Bellingham Herald prints Park(ing) Day article!

Jared Paben and the Bellingham Herald have printed an article covering Park(ing) Day. I hope you read this article, enjoy it, and pass it on to those that may be interested. We not only hope to see Park(ing) Day well attended in Bellingham, but that it catches on has it has in so many other cities across the world!

The Herald intends to continue covering this story and to show up on Park(ing) Day for photos and more stories. Please, spread the word about this event and get one started in your own communities. We now have five "Stall Captains", which means we have a minimum of five stalls covered with either sod or another form of a "park". This event is growing as people continue to realize the positive impact that it could have on their city!

To learn more about how to create your own "park", go here. Soon, we will be posting more specific instructions regarding permits as we are currently going through that process now.

News Flash: Bellingham Herald to run a print story on Sept. 10th

Jared Paben and the Bellingham Herald have decided to run a print article on Park(ing) Day in Bellingham on Sept. 10th. See the announcement here. Make sure you read the article and spread the word about Park(ing) Day 2009! Get a space now!

Call for Stall Captains!

Park(ing) Day Bellingham is putting out the word: "We need stall captains!" A stall captain will be the creative and organizing force behind their personal stall. You can recruit folks and design your stall. As of this moment we have four stall captains and we want to shoot for at least 10!

Also, if you could round up $20 to offset the cost of a permit or two that would be great! We want to be legal!

News Flash: Herald to Cover Park(ing) Day

Jared Paben of the Bellingham Herald will be covering Park(ing) Day on his Traffic and Growth blog. He will be keeping up to date changes on his blog and reporting the day of the event. Check it out!

Park(ing) Day Bellingham 2009 - Join Us!

On Sept. 18th "Park(ing) Day" will be celebrated all over the world and Bellingham, WA will be no different! It is a chance to show our local government and community how we can intelligently use public spaces. What can we do with our public spaces besides offering more parallel parking? Lets show our community that the use of our corridors is not just for automobiles, but can be shared with walkers, bikers, families, dogs, and the integration of parks. This is an opportunity to repurpose our corridors and create livable streets.

We would love to see you participate in this event by creating your own space in downtown Bellingham. We will be setting up our space on Cornwall St. right off of Holly and we welcome you to come on down, throw in a few quarters in a meter and have some fun with us! With two hours of parking available we will have plenty of time to make this the best Park(ing) Day yet!

Park(ing) Day Video

No Cars Go from The Quotidian on Vimeo.

A Quick "How to" Guide

So you want to know how to get involved? First, peruse this site and watch some videos. I think you will get the gist. Here is a rundown of the key points.

1) Form a Park(ing) Day Group

2) Grab your best park ware: BBQs, soccer balls, bocce ball, etc. You can even bring sod!

3) Come down to Cornwall and Holly, grab a parking stall (or two or three) and put some quarters in the meter

4) Enjoy Bellingham's newest people-centered park for as long as you can

5) After fun, please, clean up all items

News Flash: De Wilde's Nursery Cuts Deal with "Park(ing) Day - Bellingham"

While putting down grass in a parking stall isn't necessary to participate it is certainly a fun way to do it!

De Wilde's Nurseries Inc. has decided to cut a deal with "Park(ing) Day - Bellingham". If you are inspired to repurpose your own space using grass De Wilde's is now the place to go! De Wilde's will be giving Park(ing) Day participants grass for only 29 cents a foot. That is at cost, which is nearly a 20% savings! A typical stall is about 275 sqft. That would mean a cost of only $80. But you don't have to fill and entire space. You could get half that, $40, and still take part in Park(ing) Day.

Simply say you, "I need sod for Park(ing) Day!" and you will be given the deal. Go grab some sod!

Park(ing) Day Photos

Check out what people have done at their own Park(ing) Days. Get inspired!

Find more photos like this on PARK(ing) Day Network

Park(ing) Day NYC 2008