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Pass the Parklets, Please! Council Members Seek More Small Urban Parks in L.A.
A seating area in a parking space as part of Park[ing] Day L.A. 2010 (Lindsay William-Ross/LAist)
What better day than Park[ing] Day L.A. for Los Angeles City Council members Jan Perry and Jose Huizar to introduce a motion calling for a set of mini public green spaces called "parklets" in Downtown and Northeast Los Angeles? These parklets, the first of their kind in L.A., are seen as "mini plazas that would convert parking spaces into public seating areas," according to Highland Park Patch. Today's expected motion introduction follows an eight-month period of work on the endeavor by a "small group of local artists, architects and engineers," who have been "designing, pitching and redesigning" the parklets.
The working group started with an idea to create a better balance of uses between cars, bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit along Spring and Main Streets in Downtown's Historic Core, and now the city is throwing its hat in the ring.
Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Parks Committee Chair Valerie Watson describes the parklets as "small 8'x20' or 8'x40' spaces with objects that enhance and foster life on the street." Watson also said: "We want people flocking to, not speeding through, Downtown LA."
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