Sitting on a bench in the shade in a parking spot on B Street, San Mateo residents Louise Johnson and Phil Stripling began enjoying their lunch of bento boxes.

The pair had considered eating in the park yesterday, but walked by an outdoor sitting area set up on B Street between Third and Fourth avenues. Looking very out of place, a seating area circling a table holding games and an outdoor homemade soccer set sitting within one parking spot. It was one of three parking areas in which people could rest in downtown San Mateo yesterday. Architecture students from the College of San Mateo had transformed the spaces as part of PARK(ing) Day, an annual worldwide project to support adding park space in urban areas.

“This isn’t here every day,” Johnson said when asked why she preferred sitting in a transformed parking spot rather than the park.

And that was the point.

Started in 2005 by San Francisco art collective Rebar, PARK(ing) Day began with the conversion of one metered parking space into a temporary public park. Since then it’s grown to include multiple cities.

Late last week, George Sun, who teaches two architecture classes at the College of San Mateo decided to see if San Mateo would support creating the installations. Sun attributed a quick turn around by the city allowing his 30 first- and second-year architecture students to get to work designing three spaces.

“We offered to pay for the meter,” said Sun who added the city declined.
Sun asked his students to design their spots using a zero cost model. Much of the furniture was borrowed or from a student’s home.

On B Street, Henry Pen and Mohammed Ashfaq Haniff created a two-part area. Inspired by a recycling park, the sitting area was flanked with pillars created from water bottles that would later be recycled. Games were left open, inviting passersby to stop and it all sat atop a rug. The second half was dedicated to a small outdoor play area. Pen and Haniff constructed a small goal and ball which was on top of a cardboard flooring covered in confetti paper.

Many people simply passed by without asking many questions. The guys put up a “Honk 4 Green” sign, which seemed to generate a bigger response.

Two PARK(ing) spots were available on Ellsworth Avenue.

Fake grass, rolled out in front of Aaron Brothers, covered one parking spot. The borrowed lawn helped transform the space into a backyard setting complete with a place to lay out — although in the shade by the afternoon — and a patio area with games. Earlier in the day, students had enticed passersby to join a game of Taboo.

Student Max Jensen, from Moss Beach, said it was important to participate since cities are becoming so congested with concrete.

“There’s no nature; no spot to sit down,” he said.

Across the street, in front of Walgreen’s, Tyler Couch and Janice Huang began a game of Uno in their cardboard PARK.

They collected cardboard from various businesses and split the cardboard to create a large rug area with various textures. Chairs and recycling boxes made from cardboard were placed there while the space was flanked with trees donated for the day by a local nursery.

The trees seemed to really get people’s attention, Couch said.

Although many people stopped to look at furniture or ask why they were sitting in a parking space, Couch and Huang did have tales of people not as enthusiastic about yesterday’s project.

One person asked what the group was costing the city in meter fees while another was angry their group wasn’t given the same allowance, said Couch.

Despite the minimal setbacks, Couch and Huang started a game of Uno at 1:15 p.m. in hopes of getting some locals to join.

For more information about PARK(ing) Day visit www.parkingday.org.

Heather Murtagh can be reached by e-mail: heather@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 105.

The article below originally appeared in the San Mateo Daily Journal on September 19, 2009.
It is being reprinted with the permission of the San Mateo Daily Journal.