(Photo by DC Duxbury)

(Photo by DC Duxbury)

PARK(ing) Day—the annual, global event when parking spots are transformed into temporary parklets for the day—returns on Friday, September 15, with 28 sites in D.C. spread out across six wards.

Stop by a spot in NoMa to learn about making a city accessible for the Deaf, take a break with books and music at 5th and I Streets NW, play games and attend workshops outside the Mount Vernon Ace Hardware, and find massages and healthy snacks courtesy of the Downtown BID. Other returning sponsors include the D.C. Council, Baked and Wired, and WABA.

Elsewhere around the region, the city of Alexandria will have at least seven mini-parks. There are six sites slated for Arlington County, and the Rosslyn BID is not only participating in this year’s PARK(ing) Day event, they’re making the installation permanent. The parklet will be located at 1501 Wilson Blvd, and attendees will find free bagels, seating, live music, and games like corn hole and foosball on Friday. It will return in permanent form in the spring of 2018 (the Rosslyn BID’s urban planning and design manager will be on site on Friday to discuss).

PARK(ing) Day started, naturally, in San Francisco in 2005. It’s gained traction in D.C., particularly over the past few years, with the District Department of Transportation stepping in to create an application system and give the official blessing.

The police apparently never got the memo, calling it “flat out [not] safe” when one person tried to apply for a permit through the Metropolitan Police Department. The issue has since been remedied by higher officials, but it’s a reminder of how difficult it can be to change perceptions about how urban space can be used.

Here are all the spots sanctioned by DDOT this year:

Filed Under: (park)ingday, ddot, parking day,