Thanks to all who came out to visit Los Altos first ever PARK(ing) Day installation last Friday, Sept 21! It was a grand success, with people enjoying the seating, bike parking, chalk and magnet art, shade, bike fix-it station, and general community ambiance all day from 6am 'till 10pm. Check out some photo highlights here, make sure to read the Los Altos Town Crier's article on it this week, and learn more about the inspiration and design for this PARK(ing) Day installation here. Setting up bleary-eyed in the dark at 4:45am, I had no idea how successful this PARK(ing) Day project would be. A small crew of three of us (thanks Kent and Eldon!) had spent the day before prepping the planter boxes, arranging the plants, setting up the bike racks and fix-it station, and unpackaging the tables and chairs. With the help of the turf installer, who had to buy a blowtorch to get the turf adhesive to stick because it was too cold outside, we had the installation assembled just before dawn, and had just enough time to enjoy a steaming coffee at one of the tables before people started wandering in to see what was going on. There was an early morning crowd of coffee-drinkers, moms with little ones waiting for school to start, and cyclists out for their morning ride. Some had heard about this pop-up park from the Town Crier's article the week before the event, and others were simply curious as to what was going on. By 9:30am the place was packed, with all of the bike racks and tables occupied, and artists of all ages starting to draw on the chalk walls. Lunchtime was also packed, and then the crowd thinned out in the early afternoon - perhaps in part due to the fact that the seating was unshaded and it was a relatively warm day. Mid-afternoon the after-school crowd arrived, and the chalk and magnets saw quite a bit of use. People came after work as well, and many more showed up for the evening's festivities at the 359 bike shop. PARK(ing) Day was still hoppin' with people by the time our 10pm take-down began, and I felt bad to pull tables and chairs away from the parents watching their kids make sidewalk chalk art, and the young adult crowd listening to the live DJs rocking the house inside. An exhausting yet exhilarating 18-hour day!
We are trying to learn people's opinions of the Los Altos PARK(ing) Day installation, so it would be extremely helpful if you could take 2-3 minutes and fill out this feedback form for us. We will publish the results next week once we've gotten as many responses as possible, but thus far the feedback is overwhelmingly positive, with the only critiques being that we could have advertised more and that the planter walls were a bit tall (we agree).
If you visited the installation while it was up on Friday, please fill out this PARK(ing) Day Visitor Feedback Form
If you are a downtown merchant, please fill out this Downtown Merchant PARK(ing) Day Feedback Form
This PARK(ing) Day installation is featured on the international PARK(ing) Day website map, LadyFleur's blog, the Town Crier, and the San Jose Mercury News. Please let us know if you see more mention of it!
