The Atlanta Botanical Garden has responded to the environmental news site which last week questioned whether the Piedmont Park, er, parking deck was as “green” as it’s been touted.
After the jump, the garden’s PR people point out what they say were factual errors in Grist’s article. They even invite the Seattle-based news service out for a tour.
May 18, 2009, 12:36 p.m., 1201 Peachtree Street
This photo was taken at 1201 Peachtree St. on May 18. Adam Perdue works as a delivery driver for a local Deli and he stops at Colony Square two to three times a week to make deliveries. On this day his car was booted while he was inside the building delivering someone’s lunch. Jason did not have any money on him to pay for the boot removal, so he had to call the store he worked at and ask them to send over the $50. “Its gonna cost me $50 to get this thing off my car and so far today I have only made $30,” he said.“Unbelievable man, I am just trying to make a living.”
(Photo by Joeff Davis)
This Friday, that trusty parking spot in downtown Atlanta just may be replaced with a patch of grass and a freewheelin’ youngster flying a kite.
The nationwide event, National Park(ing) Day, is hosted by the city and sponsored by the Trust for Public Land. For one day, public parking spaces will morph into mini-parks. The idea was originally hatched by Rebar, a San Francisco arts collective. Last year’s event created more than 200 new “parks” across the nation and world. To learn how to make your own “parking park” for Friday, click here. (For photos of last year’s event, check out TPL’s National Park(ing) Day Flickr page.)
“By turning parking spaces into instant parks, National Park(ing) Day creatively demonstrates how much our cities need parks,” said Will Rogers, TPL president. “Across America, cities are renewing their investments in parks, because civic leaders have come to recognize that close-to-home parks, gardens, and playgrounds are essential if we are to have cities that aren’t just livable, but lovable.”
Lovable indeed! When was the last time you hugged Atlanta? The city plans to hold a “Park(ing) Day” at City Hall with artists, farmers and a solar panel demonstration.
(Photo by Donna McCall at TPL’s Flickr page)
