Johnny Law cracks down on parking day

Here's a nice pic just sent over by the folks at CB Richard Ellis and Valleycrest Landscape, who teamed up to build a parking day spot in downtown L.A. Looks like the long arm of the law wasn't pleased -- lighten up, officer!

Full press release after the jump. I have to add my own commentary here: I love how a national event that started with a bit of anarchy -- let's dump the car -- is getting the attention from big business and real estate firms.

--Steve Hymon

photo: CB Richard Ellis

CB Richard Ellis and ValleyCrest Landscape Maintenance Team Up

for National PARK(ing) Day September 19

Event will transform parking spaces in 10 cities into mini-parks for one day and

celebrate the companies’ commitment to sustainability

CALABASAS, Calif. - September 15, 2008 - The grass is greener this week – at least in several parking spaces across the country.  CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc., a global leader in commercial real estate services and ValleyCrest Landscape Maintenance, a leading national horticultural services company, are landscaping 10 mini-parks in metered public parking spaces across the country to mark the Fourth Annual National PARK(ing) Day. 

The PARK(ing) Day project was conceived four years ago by San Francisco-based art collective, REBAR, as an event where organizations, design firms, activists and citizens could participate in a creative and unique experiment to explore the dimensions of ecological sustainability, design and creative vision in parking spaces.  Taking place this year on Friday, Sept. 19, the one-day, national event invites everyone to transform metered public parking spaces into temporary parks to educate the public about the value of green spaces in urban places. 

This year, CB Richard Ellis and ValleyCrest will landscape parking spaces in Atlanta, Chicago, Charlotte, Denver, Los Angeles, Newport Beach, Orlando, Pasadena, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., setting a record for the most park installations by any one organization or partnership since the event began. 

“Our core values include a commitment to make a positive contribution to the communities in which we work and live and National PARK(ing) Day is a great way to inspire and educate people about the importance of green spaces and sustainability,” said David Pogue, CBRE’s National Director of Sustainability for Institutional and Corporate Services.

In May 2007, CBRE announced a commitment to become carbon neutral in its own operations by 2010 - making it the first commercial real estate services company to announce such a goal. In addition, CBRE is committed to assisting its clients with energy efficiency programs at much of the 1.9 billion square feet of building space it manages around the world.

Roger Zino, president, ValleyCrest Landscape Maintenance said, “Developing green spaces has been a core mission at ValleyCrest since we began in 1949.  This partnership with CB Richard Ellis will demonstrate our commitment to creating powerful connections between individuals and their natural environments through the creation of beautifully landscaped spaces.”

The Fourth Annual National PARK(ing) Day is sponsored by The Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national conservation nonprofit.  The organization’s goals are to celebrate parks and promote the need for more parks in America’s cities.

The 2008 National PARK(ing) Day Locations: 

Atlanta: Midtown - 1375 Peachtree Street
Chicago: Walton Street,  West of Michigan Avenue
Charlotte: NoDa District: 3201 N. Davidson Street
Denver: Market Street, between 15th and 16th Streets
Los Angeles: In front of Cal Plaza on Grand Avenue between 3rd & 4th Streets
Newport Beach:  Parking lot at corner of Newport Beach Blvd and Balboa Blvd
Orlando: Rosalind Avenue, across from the Metropolitan pool at Lake Eola
Pasadena: 201 S. Lake Avenue, South of Cordova Street
San Francisco: 150 California Street between Front and Davis Streets
Washington DC:  American University lot – 4400 Massachusetts Ave NW

photo: CB Richard Ellis

Comments

[Parking Guy]

Spokker= EPIC FAIL

[Parking Guy]

Actually they were not kicked out of their parking spot Spokker! The goal of parking day is to stress that more public land is needed especially is congested parts of the city like downtown los angeles. If more people took public transit instead of driving then we would have the necessary space. Also, taking a parking spot for one day wont kill anyone. Lastly, just by bringing a tree and grass to that parking spot we saw bees and birds come to DTLA for the first time. Imagine what an actual park would do!

[Spokker]

Man, are the last five comments from viral marketers or something? They all sound the same.

In any case, I think you can encourage "thoughtful use of land and resources" without taking over a parking spot in a city where parking is in short supply. A stunt like this only ends up antagonizing the other side, if they even find out about it.

I'm glad the police kicked them out.

[Jessica Jew]

CBRE is on the right track to support Parking Day LA because it shows that they recognize the need to use land wisely. The availability of free parking only makes traffic congestion worse as people cruise for free parking--it is important to highlight how the space could be much better used as green space. I hope Angelenos will stop and think about using alternate transportation so that they can see great displays like this green parking spot.

[Wendy Perez]

I'm very impressed that CBRE embraced the idea of Park(ing) Day. When large companies use their resources to educate citizens on important issues such as the need for open space (like parks) in cities this only benefits society. Their participation also shows that the message communicated by Park(ing) has grown significantly since it's inception in San Francisco in that it resonates with a wider audience that includes companies like CBRE, as well as with other geographic regions including Los Angeles. I believe that this is good progression since having a broad base of partners promote green space is more effective than one organization or group doing it alone. Other companies should take note of CBRE's participation in Parking (ing) Day and sign up for next year!

[Grant T]

I am really happy to see CBRE which is the largest commercial real estate firm have such a commitment to the environment and corporate social responsibility. The more we can get large corporations on board with social issues, the faster and more efficiently we can solve the problem. CBRE is in such a good position because they manage so many different real estate assets around the world and the potential of their influence is staggering. I hope to see LEED certification standards become even more mainstream and eventually be embedded in the International Building Code.

[Alessandra simmons]

I think its great people and corporations are taking a look at the city and not just for their profit, but in how the city can become a more livable and enjoyable space. Parking Day LA is an important event to bring to light the lack of green, open space there is in Los Angeles. It makes me happy to know that not only individuals, but companies are taking note and trying to make the city a greener place.

[Andrew Jacobs]

I am excited about the level of significance Park[ing] Day achieved in Los Angeles. I am glad citizens and corporations value park/open space so much that they are raising awareness of the lack thereof by using parking spaces as teaser urban parks or as a polemical device against certain vices of unthoughtful over-development. In the typology of the sprawl-city, street-level parking spaces only perpetuate the problem of wasteful land use. In this attempt to encourage thoughtful use of land and resources, I think CBRE and others have done a wonderful job exercising their responsibility to take care of the society they serve. Hopefully citizens will be inspired to see the city not as a "concrete jungle" but as a community of people invested in strategic urban planning and care for humanity.

[Spokker]

They are basically commandeering a parking spot in a city where parking is in short supply just to publicize their companies. Ridiculous.

And this is coming from a guy who hates cars and would never park in downtown.