A Chorlton community project will see car parking spaces swapped for people-friendly places.
Our Streets Chorlton is teaming up with Beech Road Traders and pupils and teachers from Manchester Islamic High School for Girls on High Lane to swap out their car parking spaces to benefit people-friendly at the end of November and early December.
The project called the ‘Parklet of Possibilities’ will see a ‘parklet’ – a reclaimed car parking space that reprioritises people over cars – installed for people to enjoy and also to gather people’s views about the idea of swapping car storage for spaces for people.
Pauline Johnston, project co-ordinator for Our Streets Chorlton, said: “The aim of the parklet is to empower communities and get more people thinking about reimagining the streets they live in. It’s a chance to test out the impact on the number of public and private car parking spaces we currently have in the city.
“We hope that for a short period of time, the installation of the parklet will make people stop, enjoy and engage with each other and the space, whether that be to just have a chat and a flask of coffee and bring their children together for informal play.
“We can also use it as a platform to chat about bigger issues of car usage and the environment.
“We’ll be asking Chorlton folks to design their own parklet so we can collect information on what people would like to see in spaces, there will be ‘Chorlton Pound’ shopping voucher prizes for the best designs – adults and children can get involved.”
The Parklet of Possibilities will be set up on a five-space car park with permission from local trader and PR agency – Democracy – on Beech Road from Thursday, November 25, until December 5 and will then move to the Manchester Islamic School for Girls from Monday, December 6, until Friday, December 10.
Free activities include DIY pedal powered winter smoothies and eco-wreath making, family yoga and much more.
On Tuesday, November 30, between 4pm and 5pm, Our Streets Chorlton will be holding a community forum at the space to start a conversation with local people on creating a parklet.
For more information on Our Streets Chorlton go to www.ourstreetschorlton.co.uk and find out how to submit your ‘Design Your Own Parklet’ design www.ourstreetschorlton.co.uk/design-your-own-parklet-of-possibilities