A PLAYFUL TRAFFIC LIGHT

Designer Li Ming Hsing came up with a really interesting concept to keep pedestrians occupied while waiting for their light to turn green. Instead of a boring red hand and a countdown, you see an animated figure instructing pedestrian to do various stretches and watching on both sides before crossing.

Wouldn't that be neat to have something like this somewhere in the city? Imagine the smile on people's faces when they see a group of people on the corner of the street performing yoga poses, tai chi poses or dance moves. There's so much that could be done do with this! Check out the whole sequence in the video below. 

Successful Park(ing) Day in Ottawa

Ever heard of Park(ing) Day? It's an annual worldwide event where citizens, artists and activists collaborate to transform metered parking spaces into temporary public places known as PARK(ing) spaces. This clever project is the brainchild of an interdisciplinary studio called Rebar in San Franscico. They produced the first one back in 2005 and this quickly turned into a worldwide event. As such, each year on the third Friday of September, Park(ing) Spaces are created in hundreds of cities around the world.


This year Ottawa had one too, thanks to yowLAB. They created a nice Park(ing) space in front of a restaurant in the Byward Market, with a bright yellow fence, benches, astroturf and potted plants. Well done!

Wouldn't it be a great if Ottawa participated every year? It would be fun to have several Park(ing) spaces likes this in the city. We could even turn it into an annual competition between different wards. And perhaps get citizens to help fund these projects by installing a special parking meter placed next to future location of a Park(ing) space to help with the cost of materials to create the spaces. This doesn't need to be promoted by the city. I think it would be better and faster if individual businesses with parking in front of their store would team up with some people to make it happen.

If you're thinking about participating next year, check out what other cities have done over the years below for some inspiration.



Photos : yowLAB | the green dots | laughing squid | object | goodlifer | parking day nyc | designing hong kong

A BIT OF FUN IN THE CITY

This picture was taken by Reddit Ottawa member don_pace who happened to notice a swing attached to a bus shelter on the corner of Slater and Kent earlier today. I just love this! It makes me smile. It's a simple way to inject a bit of fun in the city and I feel it perfectly matches the personality of Ottawans. There's even a the cute little stick figure sign above.

We need more of these is the city, don't you think?