I used to have what I consider the best type of commute to work; I could walk. It was beautiful. I could get a little fresh air, some exercise, see the neighborhood from the sidewalk rather than flying by outside my windshield. I loved it. No worries about parking or traffic, just a nice stroll watching the city spring to life each morning.
Now, I’m a car commuter. I spend my morning changing lanes and avoiding 18-wheelers. It is, luckily, a very brief commute, but still, it sets the tone for the day in a way I don’t look forward to nearly as much. Driving is simply different than walking. Not better, not worse, just different. I know that as a reluctant car commuter, I look forward to any change of scenery; back bumpers do grow tiresome. There was the time that Cirque du Soleil was in town. I loved seeing the tent rise out of nowhere, creating a new world in what was usually an empty lot. Beauty out of emptiness. Transforming the ordinary. I think that’s part of why Park(ing) Day is so interesting to me. People transform the everyday parking spot into public space. Last year, over 700 parks sprung up in, what just the day before, was a metered parking spot. To see space being repurposed and reimagined into ways that create small slices of beauty out of plots of concrete is amazing. Park(ing) Day 2010 is this Friday, and I can’t wait to see the transformation.