PARK(ing) Day: Parking space oddities

SINGAPORE - Finding a carpark lot and then realising you cannot park there is frustrating.

But some motorists who experienced this yesterday had some compensations.

At Telok Ayer Street, for example, the parking area was filled with stress-reliving activities organised by the folks from Project Hello Stranger, a movement started to spread love and giving among Singaporeans.

Called Therapy Stop, it was part of PARK(ing) Day, which is a worldwide event where the community turns parking lots into temporary public spaces. It is held on the third Friday of September every year.

In its second year here, the event was organised by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

It was the first time the PARK(ing) Day was held island-wide where 88 parking lots were transformed into 52 spaces for Singaporeans to enjoy.

Areas included lots at Tiong Bahru and Jalan Besar.

At Therapy Stop, activities included Bubble Tea, where visitors popped bubble wrap to relieve stress; and Roached Egg, where those taking part hit fake cockroaches with footwear.

The group, consisting of Ms Valerie Ong, 26, Mr Jonathan Ko, 26, Ms Ng Ying Ying, 26, Mr Weeradet Vongsai, 25, and Mr Lee Wei Guo, 29, found out about PARK(ing) Day through the news.

Stress Relief

Therapy Stop, which is aimed at stress relief, was born during one of their dinners together.

"We not only hope to help strangers to de-stress, but to also make friends and spread happiness as well," Mr Vongsai said.

Other spaces on Telok Ayer Street included Seen and Be Seen, a garden targeted towards cycling safely at parks and park connectors; and Kampong in the City, a space where the public can play a game of pong and other traditional local games.

Meanwhile, over at McCallum Street was ReTYREment Garden, where tables and chairs were made from old car tyres.

A slight shower in the afternoon around Telok Ayer did little to dampen the participants' spirits.

Miss Lim Junie, 22, and a friend created Shelter, a waterproof shelter/photo booth in a parking area at Ann Siang Road.

She said that a handful of passers-by stopped by their space to take photos.

"It's fun to see people's reactions, especially the cars that stopped for a few seconds to take a look before driving off," she said.

Miss Lim added that there was a man who went round looking for more spaces in the area after finding out about PARK(ing) Day from visiting their space.

Shelter's co-creator, Miss Kit Ang said: "It's a good way to have interaction with people through design and we hope to promote social integration through this as well."

This article was first published on September 20, 2014.
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