Update: PARK(ing) is on Taylor St between Broadway and Park. Noon to 2ish.
There are 7,000 on-street parking spaces in downtown Portland (in addition to nearly 4,000 spaces in city owned SmartPark lots). PARK(ing) --an open-source art project which culminates with international PARK(ing) Day each September 21st-- takes one or two of those parking spaces and makes them, for the metered time, into a park. Over 200 parks were created in 50 cities last PARK(ing) Day, but now, as part of Pedalpalooza, two spaces will be appearing downtown, open for all to enjoy a little time in the park.
Read on for more info and location updates...
The location of the parks depends on the spaces available, and may leave the planners circling the block on their bikes, laden with sod, potted plants, and chairs. The discovered location will be posted at noon in the window of
Green Empowerment (Green Empowerment, 140 SW Yamhill St), but I will also be posting it to our twitter feed (twitter.com/ecometro), once I arrive with Bocce balls. According to one of the event planners, the ideal location will be in the area of Pioneer Courthouse Square. In order to be legal, the meter will be fed for the alloted time, then the park disassembled and whisked away.
Park-goers are encouraged to bring lunch and a park accoutrement.
Resources:
Pedalpalooza Events Calendar
This is the last week of Pedalpalooza, a collection of bike related events leading up to the Multnomah County Bike Fair on Sunday. All are welcome. Family rides and specialty rides happen all week, including the Wurst Ride (sausages), Grow Flowers By Bike (bike-by gardening in dead zones), Farmers Market Ride, and Bike to Skate (at Oaks Park). These are a great opportunity to meet others with your interests, ride in a safe group, and explore Portland culture from the seat of a bike.
Parks Downtown
According to Portland Parks and Rec, there are
16 parks downtown (Pioneer Courthouse Square included). Spend more time in one.
Work Downtown? Special discounts on Zipcar and customized travel!
Smart Trips offers any downtown employee a customized transit package with bike maps, tri-met schedules, assistance planning a route, and information on pedestrian, bike, and transit safety rules and laws. I ordered all the bike maps and information on the Women on Bikes program. For requesting the package, commuters get a choice of free gift:
Qdoba Mexican Grill Entree
TriMet All-Day Bus and MAX Ticket
C-Tran Transit Day Pass
But even better, you'll get a discount code for a Zipcar membership in your Smart Trips welcome email! The code waives the usual $40 application fee and gives you a discounted annual fee of $35, plus $50 in credit. It's a serious deal for those considering carsharing.
