Chilling in the parking lot – Dornbirn

Dornbirn. What is possible on Dornbirn’s streets when they are not just full of parked cars was shown on Friday at the first Parking Day. Parking spaces throughout the city center were used in a variety of ways by various actors. Where cars are usually parked, carpets were rolled out and tables, chairs and sofas were set up. There was food, music, art, literature, yoga, information and much more – but above all the opportunity to get together and talk.

Juliane Alton was annoyed that some drivers did not let the signs stop them from parking their cars in one of the closed parking spaces: “We have reserved two parking spaces for the repair café and the music school – we can’t use one of them now!” In general, however, the drivers followed the signs and used alternative parking options. Pedestrians are happy about the various offers, enjoyed Riebel and apple sauce at Lebenshilfe, were enchanted by Karin Amann and Heide-Maria Michelon with a sound oasis and poetry in front of the town hall, or relaxed during a spontaneous yoga session with Jeanette Lausen in the St. Martin parish park.

Literature and

The Dornbirn City Library was also there and presented its mobile library for the first time. “In the future, we would like to be present in various places – for example in the summer in the forest pool – and also bring literature to people who cannot come to our library,” explained the director of the Dornbirn City Library, Johanna Baumgartner. Literature was also the focus at the stand of the street newspaper Marie on Marktstrasse. “Parking Day is a wonderful idea and suits us perfectly as a street newspaper. This time we are represented as an editorial team and invited to a small writing workshop in a mini Viennese coffee house,” said Simone Fürnschuß-Hofer. The “s’Fachl” on Bahnhofstrasse also invited people to take part, where Angelika Weiss from “Änni’s Kunsthandwerk” demonstrated which handicrafts can be made from watercolors.

Other participants in the first Parking Day were Vorradeln, Radlobby, vlow, Füranand, the Welthaus association, the Caritas youth ambassadors for UN children’s rights & SDG and the Dornbirn youth workshops. Of course, the initiators of the campaign, the citizens’ initiative “Stadt.Leben.Dornbirn”, also had a stand where they informed people about their activities. “Our goal is to develop Dornbirn as quickly as possible into a healthy, future-proof city that provides an environment that makes a positive contribution to people’s health,” says Hanspeter Simma. “While in the years of economic growth cities were increasingly designed for cars, the trend today is going in a different direction.” “Cities should once again become a lively meeting place for people,” adds Martina Hladik.

The event was held in cooperation with WirkRaum Dornbirn, where the first Parking Day kicked off at 10 a.m. and concluded with a get-together of all participants at 4 p.m. With this event, the initiators are taking up an idea that was launched in San Francisco more than 20 years ago and has since taken place in around 150 cities around the world every third Friday in September.