It’s not the best time to be a car: Cities keep closing streets. New York closed Broadway last May, S.F. shut down major arteries all summer, and our supervisors are clamoring to shut down Market and tax anyone dumb enough to drive through downtown. It’s in the air: pedestrians are lingering in crosswalks, street food vendors are getting the keys to the city, and just today we saw a homeless guy take a nap on Harrison. Although the art collective Rebar is too humble to take credit for reclaiming the asphalt, we’re not too humble to give it. In 2005, it transformed one metered spot into a public park, for one day. Now, Rebar’s Park(ing) Day is global, with hundreds (thousands?) of spots becoming temporary parks, outfitted in whatever participants can think up, from fake grass and real couches to the infamous Parkcycle of 2007. The whole thing is open-source -- you create your park on your own -- but Rebar’s site has all the resources you need. If you come across a park in the wild, don’t be shy. Step inside. Take a seat. Read a book or eat your lunch; better yet, introduce yourself to someone. Enjoy a few moments of curbside repose -- this is what your car feels like. Although parks appear all over the city (there were more than 70 in S.F. last year), major sites include Valencia Street, Grant Street, and SOMA.
Fri., Sept. 18, 2009
