International Park(ing) Day is not the massively humongous event it has been in past years in L.A. Nonetheless, there are still parks popping up in mid- and downtown. Below is a list of some Southern California park(s) to check out. (updated with additional sites! Some additional locations at parkingday.org)
- In Mid-City L.A., the Mid City West Community Council hosts four parklets open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.:- District La Brea, at 115 S. La Brea Avenue - features three full street parking spaces, furnished with seating, a foosball game, ping-pong table, graffiti art demo, and yummies from TWIST and Front Porch Pops.- Miracle Mile Toys & Games, 5363 Wilshire Boulevard- OpenSpaceLA, at 457 N. Fairfax Avenue - open until 8 p.m.- Melrose BID, at 7753 Melrose AvenueAdditional details at MCWCC.
- In Hollywood, join HR&A LA will be park(ing) to celebrate Mayor Garcetti's Great Streets initiative. The park takes place at Hollywood and Vine, outside the Hollywood Pantages Theatre from 12 noon to 6 p.m.There will be three spaces: a Think Tank to brainstorm Great Streets solutions with the Mayor’s team at a pop-up office with free WiFi and cold brew coffee, a “Barklet” with dogs up for adoption, and an L.A. Philharmonic virtual reality orchestra performance of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Details on flier [PDF].
- In downtown L.A., Alta Planning and Design will be on the corner of 7th and Grand with "The Sweet Spot." Attendees are invited to come and relax with their lunch or a snack from 12 - 2 p.m., share their knowledge on hidden public spaces in Downtown Los Angeles, and eat some sweets! Attendees are invited to help populate a map of public spaces downtown. Share ideas and pose for pictures in Alta's Sweet Spot Photo booth! Details on flier [PDF] below.
- In Larchmont Village, Rios Clementi Hale Studios' parklet will educate the public about the benefits of rainwater capture. Their parklet, open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., is located across the street from the firm’s office at 639 N. Larchmont Blvd. More details here.
- In Pacoima, Pacoima Beautiful hosts a parklet from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Pacoima Branch Library at 13605 Van Nuys Blvd. More details here.
- In Westwood, there will be a parklet from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in front of Simplethings at 10874 Kinross Avenue.
- In Eagle Rock, there will be a parklet from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. in front of Bloom School of Music at 2116 Colorado Blvd.
Do you know of other locations we didn't mention? Please post in the comments below.
Streetsblog L.A. will be touring some of these sites tomorrow. Follow @StreetsblogLA and #parkingdayla on Twitter for updates.
In other parking news, today Metro's Executive Committee approved the agency's revised Parking Ordinance [PDF] and Parking Fee Resolution [PDF], which is unfortunately even less nimble than the already rigid version that had been proposed in July. Instead of trusting Metro's CEO to raise or lower parking prices, the modified parking ordinance requires a vote of the agency's board of directors.
Yesterday, Metro's Planning and Programming Committee approved a 12-month $620,000 contract [PDF] with Walker Parking Consultants to develop a Parking Strategic Implementation Plan for managing station parking for the next five-to-ten years. Perhaps a year from now Metro's consultants will recommend a more nimble parking strategy.
