Regina Park(ing) Day reimagines street spaces
Reginans strolling down Hamilton Street were greeted with some offbeat opportunities Friday, like games of giant chess or Jenga in what are usually parking spaces.
Park(ing) Day in Regina, part of a worldwide annual event that aims to generate discussion on the use of public space, featured installations along Hamilton Street, Eighth Avenue and 11th Avenue.
The parking spots were turned into everything from an eco-museum to cafes to art displays to a pop-up puppy park.
One was called Play Outdoors and featured a chess game, giant Jenga and a sitting area where people could sit and chat.
"It is a nice way to test out those ideas and see what the uptake and feedback is like," Regina's Warehouse Business Improvement District's Leasa Gibbons told Blue Sky's Garth Materi.
"We thought we'd take over some parking spaces and show how we can use the street for something other than driving, parking and shopping," said Judith Veresuk, executive director of the Regina Business Improvement District, which helped put on the event. "It is a great way to get out and be part of the community."
The first Park[ing] Day was held in 2005 in San Francisco. The event is meant to raise questions about how we use urban space and how much is devoted to cars and parking.
