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Witness the Transformation of Parking Spots into Parks
Finding a parking spot in Toledo may be a little harder on Sept. 19, but the temporary public art pieces will make the extra wait worth it.
PARK(ing) Day is a global movement that turns ordinary street parking spaces into public artworks for just one day only.
What is PARK(ing) Day
“It’s really a day to bring a little bit of lighthearted, creative advocacy around the issue that cities have way too much parking and there’s a way better use of space for the public than just having a car sit there,” said, Ryan Bunch, the studio director at Toledo Design Collective, which puts on PARK(ing) Day every year.
The movement first started in San Francisco in the 1990s, but has since grown into the global movement that found a community in Toledo.
“[PARK(ing) Day] was a radical, creative, environmentalist thing, where a group of people just said, ‘Well, why can’t we just feed the meters and then turn parking spaces into parks instead?’” Bunch said. “It was the early beginnings of a conversation about designing cities for people… so it’s really grown into this global movement now, celebrated around the world, certainly around the country.”
This Year’s Big Day
Since first starting in Toledo in 2022, Bunch said the movement has grown tremendously in the city.
“We’re close to 30 [parking spots]. I think we’re right around 27, which is the most we’ve had in the five years that we have done this,” Bunch said.
PARK(ing) Day will be taking over parallel parking spots on the section of Huron St. between Washington St. and Monroe St. on Sept. 19 from noon to 6 p.m. Walking through the public space is free for all visitors.
Because of the busy weekend, Bunch is expecting to see visitors who planned to go and others who stumbled upon the space.
“There’s a Mud Hens game that night… so we’re hoping that there are a lot of people out walking around downtown and the street will be open for traffic,” Bunch said. “It really helps when you have this kind of activity. It helps to slow traffic down. It creates a safer environment for people to move around and it creates something fun and interesting to do.”
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While PARK(ing) Day is a free event, Toledo Design Collective is hosting an event on Friday to help financially support groups in participating in the event.
“Any proceeds from the [Friday] event go to support groups to be able to participate in PARK(ing) Day at lower or no cost and then also to support the Design Collective’s mission of serving neighborhoods throughout the year,” Bunch said. “That’s $30 a ticket and that’s Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. and that will be at The Yard at Huron Yards.”
An Art Preview
At this year’s event, participants include TARTA, City of Toledo, Bird’s Eye View Circus, Bowling Green State University College of Engineering & Innovation, Toledo GROWs, Toledo Tango, Toledo Public Schools Jones Academy Chess Club and Metroparks Toledo, among several others.
“This year, TARTA is a primary partner as we explore themes related to transit-oriented development, improving walkability and access to public transportation for quality of life and economic development benefits,” Bunch said.
Outside of the participants who will be creating parks, the Ohio Arts Council had a big role in growing this year’s event.
“We did a new thing this year, which we’re pretty excited about. We got a grant from the Ohio Arts Council to help us fund artists and creatives to actually make installations that raise the bar on being interactive or being more visually stunning than we might have otherwise,” Bunch said.
Because of this advancement, Bunch is most excited for these council-funded installations.
“I will say there’s going to be one that’s more of an architectural structure; kind of this idea of a ghost of a building, almost picking up that space that’ll be something that people can occupy and hang out in,” Bunch said. “Then there’s another one that’s going to be an interactive mural station, so live murals being painted, which I think will be really cool.”
Without giving too much away, Bunch also promoted a spot allowing visitors to play chess and the Metroparks’ tie-dye station. Although he knows some of the themes and interactive elements, Bunch doesn’t know what each space will look like until it’s fully built.
“It is a little bit of fun because we have some idea, but it’s even a surprise for us often once the thing is there and installed; it sometimes looks beyond the imagination or totally different than what you had envisioned,” Bunch said.
Outside of the full movement and touring ‘park’ing spots, Bunch said that going to the event also allows you an excuse to experience Downtown Toledo.
“The idea is to create a unique experience on the street to hang out and encourage people to support the local businesses. So to pop into the bars and restaurants around the Warehouse District, grab a drink, grab a bite and bring it out into this really unique space that’s only going to be there for one day,” Bunch said.
For more information on PARK(ing) Day, go to toledodesigncollective.org/parking-day.
