Park(ing) Day is an annual event that repurposes curbside parking spaces into spaces for people, known as parklets. Since the first temporary parklet was set up in San Francisco in 2005, Park(ing) Day has been celebrated all over the world as designers, students, artists, and community members reimagine public streets into vibrant, people-friendly spaces.
This year, Wenk Associates had a great spot in front of the Paramount Theatre. For our parklet, we “deconstructed” a car and turned it into a park. Influenced by the Downtown Denver goal of creating a more connected city, when we are outside our vehicles, we have the best opportunity to connect with people around us! We asked visitors to introduce themselves and then pull a card from the deck with a question on it that allowed people to get to know their neighbors better.
Prizes were awarded by Denver Streets Partnership in different categories based on Denver’s Outdoor Downtown plan: a social, recreational, connected, cultural, and sustainable downtown, as well as a People’s Choice award. Wenk Associates is proud to have received the “Best Connected Parklet” Award.
Denver Streets Partnership (DSP) collaborated with Downtown Denver Partnership (DDP), and Denver Community Active Living Coalition (CALC) a program of Department of Transportation and Infrastructure on Friday, September 16th to host the community-designed parklets.