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By KEVIN MCCALLUM
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
A small slice of Fifth Street was transformed into an outdoor patio Friday by folks urging Santa Rosans to rethink how much urban space is devoted to parking.
The Share Exchange and Greenbelt Alliance took over two parking spaces in front of their buildings, filling them with rugs, potted plants, patio furniture and board games.
Kelley Rajala, left, shares a bowl of grapes with Amanda Bornstein and Marystella Church. They were occupying a couple of parking spaces with furniture along Fifth Street in Santa Rosa while observing PARK(ing) Day on Friday. (CHRISTOPHER CHUNG/The Press Democrat)
Meanwhile, in Railroad Square, the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition set up a bike parking and loaner operation covering four spaces that might otherwise be filled by cars.
The groups were taking part in PARK(ing) Day, which began in San Francisco in 2005 and now bills itself as a worldwide event where citizens, artists and activists collaborate to transform metered parking spaces into temporary public places.
“Land is a limited resource,” said Jennifer Gennari, spokeswoman for the Greenbelt Alliance. “Do we want to devote as much as we do to parking?”
All three groups paid for the six parking spaces they used, all in two-hour parking zones, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Organizers said the city and businesses near the parking spaces were supportive of the effort.
“We’re not trying to be controversial,” said Amanda Bornstein, a field representative with the Greenbelt Alliance. “We’re trying to have some fun.”
The spaces are often called “pop-up parks” or “parklettes,” and in cities like San Francisco they’ve gone from a form of guerilla art to beloved quirky tradition.
Kelley Rajala is one of the founders of Share Exchange, a cooperative of small local business people and artisans. The organization thrives on people exchanging ideas, so creating a welcoming outdoor space seemed attractive.
“I think what the world needs more than anything is creativity,” Rajala said.
Share Exchange member Vicky Kumpfer said she hoped the event would help people imagine more people-friendly downtown land uses.
“We’re such a car culture,” Kumpfer said. “There is so much space dedicated to the car.”
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@Sick and Tired
An Agenda 21er would be a supporter of UN Agenda 21, like you. Most people on this site are anti-UN Agenda 21. Don’t try to make it sound like we support UN Agenda 21.
To sick and tired; you can change my mind. I’m open minded.
Networking is great.
Fact: ICLEI sabotages parking for automobiles.
Fact: Santa Rosa is a member of ICLEI.
Fact: ICLEI serves as the local implementation arm of UN Agenda 21.
Fact: A21′s STATED GOALS include but are far from limited to; the abolition of private property. The de-industrialation of the United States. No more private automobiles. Fact: ICLEI works towards having us stacked ‘n packed in ‘human settlements’ near a ‘Smart Train’ monitored by ‘Smart Meters’. A Society where they control EVERYTHING. Oh, and GREATLY depopulating the planet. (yeah, we’ve been holding back on that one)
I have a good sense of humor, but I don’t think that’s funny, I guess I’m on the ‘fringe’.
I just laugh at these comments. No one will change the mind of an Agenda 21er. But those of you who think that streets were closed or business interrupted, are just plain wrong. Business is what downtown is about. And entrepenuers abound, at the Share Exchange. Someone tell me why you have a problem with that. You all say you want to promote biz and the economy, yet somehow, craftsmen, bakers, artists, consultants, biz developers, health practitioners–none of them fit into your model of business downtown? Instead of just giving a thumbs down and an Agenda 21 rant, tell me why the above doesn’t work for you.
To Steveguy; it sounds like you just connected the dots. If you can control the anger and fear, it’s really quite interesting. What could be more interesting than an explanation as to why everything is so screwed up!
Why government seems to act in a way contrary to our best interest. What this evil Agenda has planned for us. Many of us hope that the conciousness manifests a kind of tipping point.
All these new words and terms. The language seems different, because it is. They’ve hijacked some great words. Much of the jargon is taken from the pages of socialism/communitarianism. Pages from past oppressions. This one is VERY multifaceted, very incremental kind of social engineering. The premise of course being man induced global warming.
The biggest hoax-junk science ever imposed on modern civilization. It’s been said the biggest cause of global warming is federal grants.
They create, engineer and perpetuate a landscape of shortages and lack. Not enough land, not enough energy, not enough water, energy, jobs, soon food.
Now you see why many of us are on here sounding off like a broken record.
Once on our rader, it is encumbent on us to educate others. If you’re single, wait ’till the second date.
Now, with this knowledge how do you like your ‘public servants’? All that ‘job plan’ stuff kinda gets stuck in your craw doesn’t it?
ok hope this works
have a laugh
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElJFYwRtrH4&feature=player_embedded
its what they do
These hoodlums have infringed on my constitutional rights — including the right to park my giant, steroidal SUV on the streets that I own, from all of the taxes that I have (over)paid.
These park(ers) are anti-American and do not deserve to speak, demonstrate, assemble, or show us any alternate behaviors beyond the very ones that have made our nation so strong! You know, those conservative ideas that have built our vibrant domestic economy and those traditional cultural icons (like cars) that have made our environment so sparkly and oil free. We need to hate people like these as they may be spreading communist practices like harmony, acceptance, and human rights.
I will fight ’till the end for my rights. But I will fight even longer to deny yours.
Yay Agenda whatever!!! Boo smart people!!!!
Enough of this street theater! Didn’t these counterculture types get enough of this in college? I guess not.
They need to get a real life and bring some meaning into their lives. Sitting in the street complaining about parking is stupid. But I guess you don’t have to be the sharpest knife in the drawer to engage in this childish behavior.
Share Exchange and the Green Belt Alliance need to take it to Berkeley where it can be watched by some of the dupes on University Avenue.
I should add that I have never had a problem parking downtown, ever. though I do bring my bike at times when numerous stops to make ( library, book stores, eating, maybe Sears, Railroad Square, etc, ride up by the College to visit friends, and take the bike and load home on the bus. Near Windsor.
I am a bike rider and advocate, but I stay off the dangerous roads. Not every street needs to be a bike street. Like Humboldt, when I ride from Windsor to Kenwood, I go Franklin, then a short cut through Proctor Terrace and hit 12 at Farmer’s Lane by Safeway. The main arterials aren’t used anyway by savvy bike riders, unless it’s the best way, and safe.
Yes, years ago there were too few bike lanes. When are enough bike lanes enough, when you may have enough already ?
Sometimes more isn’t better.
From ICLEI Handbook :
The process of building partnerships among stakeholders must be facilitated by some institution that is seen to be legitimate by diverse community interests. Sometimes this institution is the local authority. In other cases, new institutions must be created to serve as an acceptable intermediary among these interests.
Over the past decade, local authorities on a worldwide basis have been establishing new structures for partnership planning to engage stakeholders in addressing service problems and in developing new service approaches. These partnership structures, called “Stakeholder Groups,” range from round tables and forums with specific, limited-term mandates to new statutory committees and councils with long-term planning mandates.
The process of building partnerships must be facilitated by some institution that is seen by diverse community interests to be legitimate.
_______________
Note this line —— ” In other cases, new institutions must be created to serve as an acceptable intermediary among these interests. ”
Like ‘Greenbelts’, bike ‘coalitions’ ? Like other NGO’s or ‘nonprofits’ ? (loffing) (and crying)
Greenbelt is another term for kicking people off of rural land. Or coding them to oblivion.
If these people occupied 6 two hour parking spaces all day, they should have got 3 parking tickets (at 11AM, 1PM and 3PM) for violating the 2 hour time limit at $33 per ticket or $594 total. Was that done? Santa Rosa needs that money to keep its parks open so these people have some place to go sit.
This is actually in accordance with the UN Agenda 21 plan. This little rogue group is taking it upon themselves to implement United Nations objectives, which includes restricting car use in the US. We have fanatics running our cities now, all ICLEI members taking orders from…who? Yes, who is really promoting this international non-governmental movement called UN Agenda 21 Sustainable Development.
When you look at the impacts of implementing UN Agenda 21 Sustainable Development and find that it restricts productive land use, limits transportation, restricts domestic energy production, makes areas into unproductive wilderness, etc., etc., is it reasonable to suspect that the promoters are actually enemies of the United States? Could the Chinese or other regimes be funding ICLEI’s activities in the United States? I wonder. I heard that the Chinese were/are buying votes at the United Nations. Are we submitting to the United Nations instead of adhering to our Constitution? Yes, we absolutely are in many ways, particularly with regard to land use.
After 19 years since Agenda 21 was signed onto by our president, the elder Bush, look at the shape our country is in. How much of our recent woes have been brought on or exacerbated by our adherance to U.N. policies? The United Nations will be celebrating their 20 year anniversary of UN Agenda 21 in Rio de Janeiro next year.
I know that ICLEI is operating in China now, they’re supposedly going green too. It would be in their interests to back UN Agenda 21 in the United States in order to undermine our economy. The Chinese military is very rapidly expanding while ours is continually becoming weaker. Even Russia may have capabilities in which we are unable to defend.
This little stunt downtown is a power play by those who have drunk the kool-aid of UN Agenda 21/ICLEI. Awhile back, a group with the same bent from out of town decided to make a car-free day in the Juilliard Park neighborhood. Santa Rosa police co-operated and put up barracades for them. Too bad for the artists community that was having open studios that same day. These types of power plays are not community building but are rather community destroying. This group created a problem on 5th Street where no problem existed before. Shame on them. Kick ICLEI Out.
From ECLEIS’s own handbook….
The Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide, prepared by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), introduces just such an approach—a planning framework for sustainable development at the local level. In simplest terms, the Guide documents a process for developing action plans to address complex problems inherent in modern urbanized societies. It presents a framework for engaging local authorities with residents and local organizations in the design and provision of services to the community, while simultaneously protecting local, regional, and global ecosystems.
n presenting this planning framework, ICLEI has given us a book filled with insights that subvert many of our most basic assumptions and suggest fresh ways to think about them.
For all these reasons, the Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide is more than just another book. It is a lever for changing the art of managing sustainable development at the level of local government. Indeed this guide can serve as a symbol of today’s historic transformation in the concept of partnerships—one that no informed person can afford to ignore.
Elizabeth Dowdeswell
The entire ‘workbook’ that our leaders are following : http://web.idrc.ca/openebooks/448-2/
Note that ‘partnerships’ involve developers that finance schemes (like SMART) and will just run off with millions, and the projects go bankrupt with us (taxpayers) holding the bill.
There isn’t enough parking in downtown Santa Rosa and a bunch of old hippies decided that they want to sit in the street and talk about the coming revolution?
They should have been arrested and street cleared.
When are the citizens and real taxpayers of Santa Rosa going to standup to stop this left wing nonsense and bring some sanity back to this town?
Cities and towns have had street and roads since Roman times. Streets and roads are communication channels now just as they were in Roman times. They are not places were people sit and smoke weed or spend idle time. In Rome you would have been run over by a wagon or horse.
In modern times steets are our form of transportation, not sitting in them blocking traffic and commerce.
Next time arrest the fools and lets keep our streets used for what they are, traffic movers, not parks.
@ sick and tired..
Those who believe that Agenda 21 is being implemented are on the fringe ?
The true believers of Agenda 21 are in office, using Agenda 21 to form our county into a ‘vision’ that does not work, and actually harms those that live in the rural areas of our county.
They are forcing their will to change society as we know it, to our detriment.
I was skeptical, until I looked up Agenda 21 and ICLEI.
Those of you who believe in Agenda 21 are just paranoids on the fringe. Did you read the entire article? Do you know what the Share Exchange is about? These are local BUSINESS people trying to create community DOWNTOWN. There were individuals there throughout the day promoting their BUSINESSES and sharing ideas. What is wrong with that? How is it that THAT doesn’t fit into downtown? Just because it was an off-beat way to bring people together to visit and chat–that makes it crazy? I don’t think so. What the heck do YOU people do with your time, to bring people together?
I think their “group” should pool their money, buy some land, and build their town just the way they want it-hopefully about 150 miles due south of Elko, Nevada. People could walk or ride bikes all the way across the desert to sit out in the parking spaces and exchange ideas. Just not in this town who has planned, built, and maintained parking spaces for folks to go in to the business and spend money. Different concept huh?
The scary thing is that these are the people that City Councilmembers listen to. The majority needs to make themselves heard!
let the movement begin!a place to meet with like thinking people,for the price of a parking place.the tea party,the kkk, the i love che group, the turn in your neighbor gang at attack watch! the possibilities are endless.feel free to add your suggestions.the two spaces in front of the greenbelt alliance seems like a good place to start.lets get it on!
what a great idea! now us sports fans can bring some couches downtown and sit outside the 5th street grill and enjoy afternoon ballgames in comfort! to hell with the 2hr limit.this may start a movement!
Wanna bet they all drove there so the could haul their “stuff”? They sure didn’t haul all that “stuff” on bicycles! They probably took parking places away from shoppers and diners who would have spent money and helped the sagging economy, but they all are feeling oh so good about there efforts to “save the planet”!
“Land is a limited resource,” said Jennifer Gennari, spokeswoman for the Greenbelt Alliance. “Do we want to devote as much as we do to parking?”
Note to Ms. Gennari: Even in heavily populated California, here are land use figures from the 2000 Census. 2010 figures not available yet
“Although California is the nation’s most populated state, it is hardly running out of land. More than 94 percent of Californians live in urban areas that cover just 5.1 percent of the state. When rural places are added, no more than 8.6 percent of the state is developed. Since California’s rural places have an average density of just 93 people per square mile, most of their land area probably qualifies as rural open space”
So by all accounts, you already have access to 91.4% of the state. Please enjoy that open space freely, and leave endangered parking spaces the hell alone.
We have 1,575 square miles of land in Sonoma Co.
That’s a lot of land, and 2 parking spaces converted to a distracting nuisance for one day is soooo revolutionary, man.
It’s like, you know, a kind of step back to the good old days, man, when people didn’t always think about their cars, man, and it was, you know, like beautiful.
Spare me.
I sell cars and want every space filled with customers flooding downtown with shopping dollars.
(Everybody needs at least two cars apiece.)
Typical leftist devolutionary stunt; seize a tiny spot where everybody can gaze upon their heartfelt concern for Madre Tierra, while scolding passersby for simply trying to get along with their day.
And all the sensitive slow-food patchouli-fools parked their cars around the corner.
Scolding drivers can be hazardous to your health.
As with the obnoxious bicyclists grouping up to prevent cars from passing them on our rural roads, when things don’t go as planned, the normal people are still driving veeeerrrry close to you…in their 3 ton cars.
Have a nice day, and share the road before you get run over.
Thanks for the heads up about this event from the PD. We canceled our for dinner for 5 in Railroad Square drove to Healdsburg instead.
These people are absolutely INSANSE!!! No wonder the Sonoma country economy is in the crapper. People like this hate any business of any kind
This is Agenda 21 indoctrination implemented through their ‘foot soldiers’, many of which are well meaning citizens that probably don’t even know it.
Thunderhead Alliance, The Bicycle Coalition are installed to manufacture consensus for ICLEI directives/goals.
Round planters reduce parking. Pay an ICLEI parking consultant to tell ‘em how to maximize parking revenue, sabotage small business.