How many times have you tried to find parking in the city, only to end up standing there, scratching your head at the confusing sign that explains when the space is available? Is it Monday between 8 and 9, a leap year, or is it even legal to park here? Some enterprising citizens of New York have taken matters into their own hands: It’s no secret that sometimes parking signs can be confusing. Now one New Yorker is taking matters into her own hands, and doing something about it. Frustrated by one too many parking tickets, Nikki Sylianteng used her background in interaction design to create a new, simpler parking sign. “With my signs what I tried to do is cover 24 hours of the day to clearly state when you can and can’t park,” she says. “Green would be for you can park, red would be for when you can’t park.” She posted her sign right under the DOT’s parking sign in her Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, neighborhood and left a spot for people to leave comments. “The first person wrote like, ‘The mayor should hire you. This is great,'” she says. “Things like that.” Projects like Nkki’s are part of a growing trend called “tactical urbanism” in which regular citizens [are] using tactics to try to improve the urban environment without the government’s help. They also have posted signs which read “Twenty is Plenty” to remind speeders of the speed limit and to promote safety. Self-governance at its finest! New York News
