Dresdner Robin to Kickoff Montclair's PARK(ing) Day

Dresdner Robin, a Jersey City-based engineering and land use consultancy, is sponsoring Montclair’s celebration of PARK(ing) Day on Friday, September 21, with an interactive “parklet” at 215 Glenridge Avenue from 11am-7pm. Designed to align with PARK(ing) Day’s mission of social interaction and urban land use, Dresdner’s parklet shows visitors how much space they would have if they left their cars at home, and includes interactive art, games, and seating in two converted parking spots.

Dresdner Robin partnered with Pompton Lakes, NJ, artist, Michael Accardi, proprietor of Artastic! Art Academy, to bring the Montclair parklet design to life with a series of wooden silhouettes of children playing. One cut out is simply painted in black chalk, allowing parklet visitors to create their own art. The art installation forms the boundary of the parklet, and shares a synthetic turf space with a cornhole game to encourage visitors to stop and play. Adjacent to the synthetic turf, there is a platform and small seating area, bordered with fall plants, pumpkins and hay bales. Site furniture is provided by Aristeia Metro and Ben Shaffer Recreation, and the synthetic turf is provided by SynLawn.

“We’re proud to be sponsoring Montclair’s PARK(ing) Day this year, working closely with the Montclair Center BID and Bike&Walk Montclair. Our unique design utilizes the limited amount of space by infusing elements of interactive art and activity into every square inch,” says Lauren Venin, Dresdner Robin Landscape Architect, who will be on-site Friday. “We are focusing on the value of shared activities to foster social interaction.”

These parklets, as the "parks in parking spaces" are called, encourage pedestrians to spend more time on the street and engage in spontaneous social interactions. “We love Dresdner Robin’s vision for the parklet and encourage Montclair residents to visit on Friday and post photos of their experiences on social media,” says Israel Cronk, executive director, Montclair Center BID. “More urban gathering spaces like these will energize our vibrant arts community and bring more foot traffic to our retailers.”

PARK(ing) Day was launched in 2005 by the Rebar Group, Inc., as an “open-source experiment in reclaiming public space.” In addition to fostering outdoor exploration, PARK(ing) Day “offers a glimpse of what landscape architects or designers can do, and the value design adds to public spaces,” says J.R. Taylor of the American Society of Landscape Architects, a leading advocate of the global event.

Use the hashtag #ASLAPD18 on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to share your photos of the Montclair PARK(ing) Day parklet or see other parklets from around the world.

Photo Credit: Dresdner Robin