SACRAMENTO, CA – Fifteen activists with Strong SacTown and Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates paid for and transformed three parking spaces outside of Cafe Xocolatl into parklets on Sept. 21, 2024 for Global Park(ing) Day to demonstrate how surface parking could be used for more sustainable and people-oriented purposes.
The 420 square feet that would normally be occupied by three parked cars blossomed into a vibrant and joyful community space for the 70 people who visited during the three hours of the event. Artificial grass, camping chairs, wood benches, rugs, plants, and sidewalk chalk transformed black pavement into a cozy outdoor living room. Community members, cafe patrons, and passersby made bike-powered spin art, answered trivia questions about parking in Sacramento, played cornhole, read books from the pop-up free library, and chatted over locally brewed chai and pastries from the cafe. “It’s great to be out here and see how just a few parking spots can become a hangout space for dozens of people, instead of just storing cars and creating social and economic costs to the city,” said Tucker Gandy, a Strong SacTown volunteer who made benches for the event.
Participants were educated on how much space is dedicated to parking in the central city and wrote ideas for alternative uses of parking spaces; bike racks, bus shelters, small parks, trees, outdoor dining, and even affordable housing were some of the innovative suggestions that people provided. Deb Banks, the executive director of Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates, believes that increasing infrastructure for bikes and pedestrians would be a beneficial alternative. “We want Sacramento be a great city for anyone who wants to ride a bike. One way to do that is to create less space for cars, and less space for cars means more space for people.”
Park(ing) Day is a global event that began in San Francisco in 2005 to repurpose parking spaces into public parks and social spaces. It advocates for safer, greener, and more equitable streets for people. This year, over a hundred events brought this message to communities around the world.
The event was coordinated with the support of Café Xocolatl, which offered use of their patio tables and even free chocolates as trivia prizes for the event. “Our cafe is based on principles of permaculture and creating ways of life that are healthy and long-term sustainable,” said Ariel Wolansky, owner of Café Xocolatl and Choquiero Chocolate. “We were excited and honored to come together as community to create a sacred space. In a space that would have sat empty most of the day, new friendships were born, and creativity was birthed and expressed.”
Mayoral candidate Dr. Flo Cofer also made an appearance at the event, saying, “Our campaign slogan is ‘More is Possible.’ I want us to rethink the boundaries we put on our imagination and consider how influenced our imagination is by what already exists. I firmly believe that there is a better way of designing cities, of engaging with our neighbors, and moving through our spaces that will benefit our overall connection, health and wellbeing.”
As a group dedicated to improving the built environment in Sacramento, Strong SacTown celebrates recent parking reforms that the city has made. With the adoption of the 2040 General Plan in March 2024, Sacramento eliminated parking minimums citywide, enabling businesses and new residential developments to choose to have more space or reduce rents instead of being required to provide expensive parking spots. According to the Parking Reform Network, Sacramento joins at least 75 cities who have repealed minimum parking requirements.
Strong SacTown thinks Sacramento can make further progress on parking reform. “The city’s next step should be to look at the underutilized parking lots,” said Troy Sankey, a Strong SacTown volunteer who did a land analysis and determined that a staggering 17% of the developable land in the central city is dedicated to off-street parking. “By incentivizing shared parking instead of reserved parking and encouraging certain lots to become housing or public space, we can shift from being a city for cars to being a city for people.”
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