The City of Somerville’s SustainaVille program hosted the Park(ing) Day event this past weekend on Broadway in Somerville. — Photos by Jeffrey Shwom

By Jeffrey Shwom

After living in Ball Square from 2019-2023, there are a lot of things I could not imagine. Ball Square Bowling being taken down and a new train station, for example. Two permanent turning lanes that have been removed from Broadway at Boston Ave. What about Neighborhood Produce and Ciao! Pizza moving to Ball Square with their respective second locations?

Well, for one day only in Somerville, parking spots are being claimed for the temporary purpose of thinking differently about our shared space. This is a part of Park(ing) Day, “a global, public, participatory project where people across the world temporarily repurpose curbside parking spaces and convert them into public parks and social spaces.” It’s Somerville’s first year participating, thanks to the City of Somerville’s SustainaVille program. Cities from Toronto to Zhubei City, Taiwan, and across the world are participating between September 20 through 22.

At 11:30 a.m. on a cloudy, humid, gray overcast morning, with sounds of construction equipment and excavators near Cedar Street, I came over the Broadway Bridge and encountered five parking spots with three pop-up tents, variously sized astroturf, and native plants like bearberry, witch hazel and a type of pepper plant lining the curb and street. The Boston Society of Landscape Architects presented information about Indigenous Landscape of Boston and handed out echinacea seedlings prepared by Marzilli Landscaping. The CultureHouse pop-up, with a rug underfoot, was offered as a “public living room” with Connect4, music and two hammock chairs. Tents could be seen in front of Sound Bites, Ball Square Cafe, and across the street in front of Dr. Christopher Cordima, Chiropractor (closed today).

At the time of my visit, only one of the four installations was by a private resident. Preston and David Gutelius were taking a break from working remotely to chat. They had set their space up with comforts like a floor pad, a turquoise green beach chair and a wood chair. They had a bed-side table lamp too, powered by a batter pack. Preston told me, “Over the past few years, especially during the pandemic, my brother and I, along with a lot of our family and friends have become more aware of what a resource parking spaces are. So, this is a fun opportunity to kind of engage. And kind of look at how it could be used or what the space might be.”

This is not the first time that the city and Ball Square have thought differently about street space. There are two permanent bike racks, one located on Bristol Road in front of Somerville dry Cleaners & Tailors and the other on Josephine Ave. next to Blue River, that brings different road users besides cars into the square.

Molly Wimberg and Amanda Conner proudly participating in Park(ing) Day.

Molly Wimberg, landscape designer at Copley Wolff Design Group and a part of The Boston Society of Landscape Architects (BSLA) was standing next to Amanda Conner, an administrative assistant for BSLA. “We do this every year,” Molly explained. “This is our first time at this particular location. We usually partner with schools and scheduling issues didn’t work out this year. So, we’re here partnering with Somerville.” She pointed out that BSLA also has installations in Portland, Maine (where participants signed up beforehand for spots) and another in Western Mass. Amanda liked their setup compared to her 2022 Park(ing) Day experience at university. “It was not as urban. We definitely are in the center of a thoroughfare here. People are stopping by. It is attracting the people of Somerville to come interact with us and it is not as isolated from everything. I feel like I am in the thick of a beautiful neighborhood.” Did they feel unsafe, being in the street? “No, no. I got my son right over here,” Molly stated proudly.

David and Preston Gutelius “parked” on Broadway.

What I found heartening was that folks were not complaining about street noise or loud sounds. They were enjoying the experience. I asked David, the light hearted visitor from Connecticut, if he felt more empowered that while the drivers were driving by, they were just hanging out together in their space on a casual Friday? David grinned, “a little bit, yeah. I’m not going to deny it.” He and his brother planned on staying until 4:00 p.m., checking emails and enjoying their visit together.