This Friday: Park(ing) Day

Park(ing) Day is just around the corner once again. That's the day every year when parking spots all over downtown Tacoma (and a whole lot of other cities) are transformed into little pop-up parks.

The event, which takes place internationally every year on the third Friday in September, is meant to promote thoughtfulness about how we use physical space in a way that is fun and engaging to the community.

The temporary on-street pocket parks in past years have included a range of decor and uses. We've taken music lessons, played pinball, wiggled our toes in real grass, bowled with real fruit, met new people, and more. In other words, Park(ing) Day has been a day to generally go beyond our typical experience of what it means to spend time downtown.

Parks will be set up between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Visit five of the # parks and be entered to win downtown restaurant gift cards. Join a guided tour or explore the parks on your own. Downtown On the Go will be hosting a lunchtime walking tour and bike tour of many of the parks.

View the Park(ing) Day map online or click below to downlowad to see the full list of locations.

We've enjoyed the event in the past, and we can't help thinking - could this work in other neighborhoods with on-street parking? What about 6th Avenue? Or the Lincoln District? Or South Tacoma Way? Or what about more permanent parklets in any of these neighborhoods or others, along the lines of what San Francisco has done?