On Friday, September 16, volunteers from Meliora Design and KMS Design Group in cooperation with Phoenixville Borough, took over two parking spaces and built a pop-up park for a day. This spontaneous park was one of hundreds of pop up parks that sprang up on September 16th through the world. Other locals celebrating Park(ing) Day were Coatesville and West Chester.
Park(ing) Day is an international effort to provide awareness about the importance of open spaces in urban areas. Our Park(ing) day pop-up park proved that hundreds of people could enjoy a small downtown space rather than the traditional use of the space to hold two parked cars.
The pop-up park theme was stormwater, parks and the environment. Fun features of the park included balloon animals made by John Hoover of KMS, a 7 foot tall crossword puzzle, s’mores making station, and plenty of seating made from repurposed 5 gallon buckets. The site was surrounded by lively painted pallet walls and lots of foliage. Local businesses including SiteOne Landsape Supply (formerly Shemins), Landscape Forms, and KBI Global donated materials for the park including sound and lights, park furniture, and pervious pavement.
Phoenixville’s first Park(ing) Day pop-up park was a huge success. Hopefully the park will make another appearance next year.
photo credit: Meliora Design
