Authored By Sean Phipps
For the 11th annual Park(ing) Day Chattanooga, new organizers will highlight Patten Parkway on Friday. The event is designed to be a fun, whimsical way for a variety of local organizations and businesses to transform metered parking spaces into fun mini-parks (parklets). From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., attendees are encouraged to visit and have lunch at Patten Parkway (between Georgia Avenue and Lindsay Street). Featured parklets include the Chattanooga Department of Transportation, Summitt Pianos, Moms for Social Justice, GreenTrips, UTC student organizations, Public Education Foundation and more. Throughout the afternoon, guests can visit each park and try carpool karaoke, belly dancing, free food and drink samples, stress relief strategies, games and more. Admission is free. More information is here. “We’re excited about the changes coming to Patten Parkway,” Chattanooga Design Studio’s outreach coordinator Teresa Dean Cole said. “Our goal is to show how people, public spaces and cars can coexist in one area.” A new aspect to Park(ing) Day this year is the addition of a food truck court. Park(ing) Day was created in 2005 and has evolved into a global movement. The mission is to call attention to the need for more urban open space and generate debate about how public space is created and allocated. A history of Park(ing) Day can be read here.
