Parking Day LA

Our display at Parking Day LA certainly accomplished the goal of evoking public thought about our cause. Not necessarily support, but certainly thought. I think the most common reaction to our display was an amused curiosity. Some seemed annoyed, some supportive, some inspired, and most expressed a sort of skeptical interest. While some approached us to learn more about our cause, others seemed to use it as an opportunity to rant about any and every political issue they had an opinion on. The degree of support for our efforts varied greatly. One man said “it’s young people like you guys that are going to change the world for the better,” while another man told me we were wasting our time. Another tried to convince me that recycling is just a big conspiracy. Realistically, I think mixed reactions were to be expected, seeing as displays advocating sustainability and green space are relatively uncommon in Eagle Rock. A woman said, “I heard about Parking Day LA on the radio but I never dreamed I’d see it in Eagle Rock!” I think the important thing is that we were able to spread awareness in an area where there’s traditionally not a big focus on redefining land use in LA.

One of the probable reasons people resisted our message is that converting land devoted to roadways and motor vehicles into parks and green space in LA would mean a lifestyle change for many residents. People want to be able to drive their cars to work and have places to park. I admit – I drove to parking day. I don’t have a bike on campus, and because I was going straight to class I wouldn’t have had time to walk. Even if I had had access to a bike, I probably wouldn’t have felt safe biking on streets in LA, and I’m not familiar with the bike paths. The key to redefining land use for alternative types of transportation is giving people viable alternatives. Until people trust modes of transportation other than motor vehicles, I think they will continue to resist the idea of converting roadways and parking lots into parks.

I think one thing that could have improved our display is to have something to hand out to people about parking, alternative transportation, park space, etc. The fresh produce in LA booklet was great, but didn’t have an explicit connection to our exhibit of parking/motor vehicle signs. Even just passing out a flier of quick facts about land use in the surrounding community would have reinforced our message. Overall, I think parking day was beneficial and educational for the community and for us.

-Katrina