URA opens registration for PARK(ing) Day.
Parking lots across Singapore will be a buzz of activity on 19 September after the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) invited the public to turn these areas into temporary public spaces for Singaporeans to enjoy.
This is being organised in conjunction with PARK(ing) Day, a global event where people transform parking lots into outdoor living rooms, gardens, libraries, mini gyms and even art galleries.
Ng Lang, CEO of URA, said: “We are supporting PARK(ing) Day this year because we think it is a light-hearted way to encourage people to envision the possibilities in a city with fewer cars.
“We have, in the past year, introduced car-free weekends at Club Street, Haji Lane and Circular Road, and the success of these projects is a reflection that we can work with the community to selectively convert road space to become public spaces that people enjoy,” he added.
The one-day PARK(ing) Day event is part of URA’s PubliCity campaign to liven up public spaces. Similar projects include the recent Chairs in Squares at the Asian Civilisations Museum and Marina Bay, and Picnic in the Park – Under the Gelam Trees at Kampong Glam.
On 19 September, the public can use any URA coupon-paid parking lot and some HDB kerbside parking lots at Tiong Bahru to create ‘PARKS’. But they must first register with the URA.
Once accepted, they will receive a specially-designed parking coupon to reserve a parking lot and parking fees will be waived for these ‘PARKS’.
PARK(ing) Day began in 2005 in San Francisco and has since grown to involve over 180 participating cities in six continents.
The first PARK(ing) Day in Singapore took place in 2013 whereby students from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) transformed four car park lots at MacPherson Estate into community gardens (pictured).
To participate, the public can visit the PubliCity website (bit.ly/1ru3zub), select a parking lot, and submit an idea of what they would like to do in the temporary space.
Online registration ends on 15 September.
Photo by SUTD.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Singapore Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email: romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
Related Stories:
Buyers win with ancient strategies
Furniture tops list of personal items stored at self-storage facilities
At Home with pop princess Kylie
