Be sure to check out more of the pictures of the Pop UP Skatepark on Flickr

Pop UP Pearl by the numbers:

1050 – Feet of Straw Wattles

Over 300 – Feet of Astroturf

100 – Square Feet of Sod

20 – Trees and Shrubs

19 – Planter Boxes

40 – Flower Baskets

5 – Cans of Spray Chalk

7 – Rolls of White Duct Tape for Temporary Crosswalks

18 – Food Vendors

15 – Music and Dance acts

66 – Arts, Crafts, & Non-Profit Vendors

Over 500  - Cyclists via Pedal for Prizes

Over 2500 – Visitors throughout the day (estimate)

May 19th really is a great day to be on a bicycle, so why not keep it going with a ride that night?

Century Cycles is putting the old-fashioned slumber party on two wheels for its 3rd Annual Pajama Party Night Ride on the Towpath Trail on Saturday, May 19, at 7 p.m. at the Century Cycles store in Peninsula (1621 Main Street/Route 303). More info.

And remember that Old Brooklyn is a great launching point for this event, what with excellent access to the Towpath Trailhead on Harvard Rd. and all…

Here is a simple plan for the day -

• Wake UP!
• Get bike, helmet, and lights ready
• Ride through Downtown Old Brooklyn on way to Loew Park (Pedal for Prizes)
• Enjoy an afternoon at local Old Brooklyn businesses and enjoy Pop UP Pearl in the heart of Old Brooklyn
• Enter into a raffle that could get you a brand new bike + lots of other great prizes
• Finish out the day relaxing and eating great food at Pop UP Pearl
• Turn on the lights on the bike and head for the the Towpath Trail
• Arrive in Peninsula for the Pajama Party Night Ride
• Head home tired and rejuvenated by a wonderful day

Come join us for the cleanup and planting tomorrow, Saturday May 12th at 1 PM!

We will be meeting at the former Arby’s parking lot at 1 pm and cleaning the windows and vacuuming out the Pop UP Shop located in the Cavana Building at 4193 Pearl as well as planting flowers in the planter boxes along the west side of Pearl.

Not sure which planter boxes are being spruced up?  It is these ones!  Hope to see you there!

The Pop UP Park  is returning this year thanks to Green Ideas Landscaping!  Come see a parking lot converted into a park for a day at Pop UP Pearl, May 19th from Noon until Dusk.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Bluesky71

What if a streetscape was more than just a way for vehicles to move to and fro but instead offered a destination?  That is what La Rambla, in Barcelona, offers to residents and visitors alike.  As a pedestrian retail area it offers space for public performance and art as well as the more nuts and bolts offerings such as those offered in vendor stalls seen in the picture above.  Traffic (i.e. automobile traffic) still flows along the corridor on two streets that flank the pedestrian space, but the flow of people is actually increased by keeping the number of lanes down.  Many part of La Rambla are only about 45 ft wide, which amount to 4 lanes of traffic.

Now what if during Pop UP Pearl 3 lanes of traffic, or a little more than 30 ft in the center of the street are converted into a vendor and pedestrian space?  What would this mean about how we see the street.  What could it mean for the future of the public right-of-way in terms of leaseable spaces like the permanent vendor spaces in Barcelona?

On May 19th Pop UP Pearl will experiment with this concept.

Pop UP Pearl is on it’s way.  Tonight we have our bi-weekly meeting at St James Lutheran (4771 Broadview Rd.)  to discuss the event and lots of the planning details.

In case you hadn’t heard May is Cleveland Bicycle Week.  Don’t believe me?  Just ask Bike Cleveland the newest and coolest bicycle advocacy organization around.  The point is, get out on your bikes and get ready for a wonderful summer!

Pop UP Pearl is all about the idea that “Complete Streets” are great because they build community and support local businesses, especially the ones that are located in older buildings meant to be accessed by people on foot, which just so happens to be what Downtown Old Brooklyn is!  Pop UP Pearl is a celebration of Complete Streets, an affirmation of the legislation passed in Cleveland last year, and a gentle nudge for implementation.

At Pop UP Pearl this year you can expect:

• Bicycles
• Pedestrians
• DIY Urbanism Competition finished designs
• Rock Climbing Wall
• Pop UP Skate Park
• High quality hand-crafted goods
• Live Music including Frankie Starr
• Spoken Word Poetry
• And so much more!

Also why not ride with Pedal for Prizes and make a day of it?  Pedal for Prizes is in it’s third year and they are giving out prizes valued at more than $4,000!  For more information go to their website www.pedalforprizes.org.

Park(ing) Day, San Francisco. [photo courtesy of SPUR]

Call for Artists Now Available!

Pop UP Pearl (and Cleveland!) is getting its very own DIY Urbanism Competition!  The Pop UP Pearl 2012 DIY Urbanism Design-Build Competition is looking for artists and designers that would like to experiment creatively with a standard parking space.  See the Call for Artists for more information.  Design proposals are due April 20th, and the installation must be built-out the morning of May 19th and remain in place from 12 noon to 6 pm.

Inspired by Park(ing) Day and the University of Cincinnati’s DIY Urbanism Competition, the Pop UP Pearl DIY Urbanism Competition aims to inspire local designers to rethink how they look at public spaces.

(UC DIY Urbanism Competition)