BY TAMMY MURGAREPORTER FOR THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE
SEPT. 18, 2021 12 PM PT
For months, parking spots on Chula Vista’s Third Avenue have served as outdoor dining areas for restaurants and breweries due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Friday, passersby witnessed more than just tables and benches. Several parking spots along G and E streets were repurposed into art installations with music, a garden lounge and even an education center.
The new setups marked Chula Vista’s first year participating in International Park(ing) Day, an annual event where communities, artists, activists and businesses transform the curbside spots into temporary parks or public spaces for anyone to stop by and relax, exercise or partake in a variety of activities.
“The hope with Park(ing) Day is further promoting public space as a priority, walking and biking as a priority and driving as less of a priority. It’s encouraging people to want to live closer to places like this,” said Chris Stebbins, a local urban design specialist and president of the American Society of Landscape Architects San Diego Chapter.
Just north of that parklet was an 8-foot sculpture in the middle of a parking spot outside of the art gallery Art On Third. The installation caught the eye of many pedestrians and drivers, some curious and others who said they were not pleased with fewer storefront parking spaces available.
“It’s doing what it was intended to,” said Art On Third owner Rich Walker as he pointed to his tall sculpture. “It’s making people stop and see and the hope is to get more people out here.”
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