On Friday, September 19, downtown Ithaca will join dozens of urban centers across the world in playing host to PARK(ing) Day, an annual open-source event where citizens, artists, and activists transform metered parking spaces into temporary public places.

Founded in 2005, when the San Francisco art and design studio Rebar converted a single metered parking space into a public park, PARK(ing) Day has evolved into a global movement with a mission to “call attention to the need for more urban open space, to generate critical debate around how public space is created and allocated, and to improve the quality of urban human habitat… at least until the meter runs out!”

David West, an organizer of PARK(ing) Day Ithaca, notes that this year’s event will be Ithaca’s largest to date, with the following participants confirmed: Stream Collaborative (East Green & South Cayuga Streets); Christian Science Reading Room (100 Block of South Cayuga Street); Avanti/Evolution (100 Block of South Cayuga Street); Ithaca Carshare (Dewitt Mall); 211/Creating Healthy Places (North Aurora Street across from CTB); and Way to Go (site TBD).

Spaces can be visited from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM. A panel of judges, including Gary Ferguson, Executive Director of the Downtown Ithaca Alliance and Frank Nagy, Director of Parking for the City of Ithaca, will be selecting a winning design.

For more information, please contact David West at west.david.j@gmail.com.