Parking space becomes park for a day

 

PULLMAN, Wash. – Who says a park needs to stretch for acres, if not miles, to provide a sense of serenity in the natural world? On Friday the Washington State University Landscape Architecture Club converted a single parking space in front of Ferdinand’s ice cream shop into a park for a day.

 

David Hewitt, president of the club, said it’s all part of PARK(ing) Day, a global effort that started in San Francisco in 2005 when a metered parking space was turned into a public park for a day to call attention to the need for more open spaces in urban areas.

 

At WSU, maple trees just beginning to turn were grouped with buckets of blooming asters and switchblade grass to provide a leafy setting for a rattan couch and coffee table. A hammock was set up on a nearby island of grass.

At 11 a.m. the park was crowded with other members of the club, but Hewitt said he was hoping construction workers would be stopping by on their lunch break.

 

His group wasn’t trying to make a political statement, Hewitt said, as much as raise awareness about the landscape architecture major and provide people with a pleasant place to sit while they eat an ice cream cone, have lunch with friends or just enjoy a few quiet minutes on the Palouse.

 

Hewitt said he started working with WSU Parking Services during the summer to arrange for free use of the parking space. The furniture was donated by Terre View Crossing and the plants were donated by Crossroads Nursery.

 

In 2010 there were more than 800 PARK installations in more than 180 cities in six continents. Hewitt said he hopes it will become an annual event on the WSU campus.

 

The park was scheduled to be open 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

 

Source: David Hewitt, president, WSU Landscape Architecture Club, 443-838-3399, david.hewitt123@gmail.com