Park(ing) Day sees parking lots turned into quirky fun zones
Park(ing) Day movement sees parking lots around the city centre repurposed for creative activities
Cycling can be a good form of exercise.
And with a bit of ingenuity, it can also be a great source of refreshment.
Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) planner Ng Yi Wen and her team came up with a pedal-powered juicer - a blender hooked up to a bicycle to provide blended fruit juice for the rider.
"I think it is a good way to show that there are alternative ways to meet mobility needs aside from cars," said Ms Ng, 26, who was giving out cups of the fruit juice at a parking lot in Amoy Street.
The bicycle juicer was part of Park(ing) Day 2015, an international movement where petrol power gives way to people power as parking lots are repurposed for creative activities.
Last Friday, 140 parking lots in the heart of the city centre hosted about 70 activities such as an urban beach party, table tennis matches and art exhibitions.
The event was organised by the URA and is in its third year here.
"We are taking lots away from cars and giving them back to the people," said poly student Yan Jia Yan, 22.
Her team from Lopelab transformed parking lots along Keong Saik Street into an urban garden, where people could take home herbs in recycled plastic bottles.
ENCOURAGING
She added: "I usually see this sort of thing in Europe so it is encouraging to see the Singapore Government urging people to embrace public spaces."
Park(ing) Day is one of the initiatives that is part of URA's PubliCity programme. Others include PLAY At Jalan Besar - a series of life-size games and installations that was launched on Friday and will be open till the end of October.
URA director of urban planning Tracey Hwang said that the objective was to give people a chance to transform their city.
"It is about changing the mindset of people to help them appreciate the importance of public spaces in our built environment, and to be able to understand what fewer carpark lots could do, and how it will benefit the larger community," she said.
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