Black Friday Parking 2016 Recap

This year's #BlackFridayParking event was a success! More than 650 tweets and 1.5 million impressions on Twitter means we reached a huge audience. We also had quite a bit of interaction on Facebook and Instagram (40+ posts and dozens more comments on each platform). This year, several participants got creative and posted, not just photos, but also videos, panoramic images and photo collages.

What I love about Black Friday Parking is that it's an accessible entry-point to Strong Towns. It invites our friends who follow us on social media but might not be aware of Strong Towns to wonder why there's suddenly a photo of a parking lot on our social media feeds, especially when everyone around us is tweeting pictures of Thanksgiving feasts and Starbucks holiday drinks. #BlackFridayParking begins a conversation and points out something that's right in front of our eyes (empty parking lots) that so many of us never think about. 

Thank you to everyone who participated in this fourth annual #BlackFridayParking event. I hope it sparks an ongoing conversation in your community about how to make better, more productive use of space. We've got lots of resources to help you with that.

Below are some favorite tweets and instagram posts from the #BlackFridayParking feed on November 25:

#BlackFridayParking with my dog at the Target lot in Silver Spring, MD. Lot ~65% full @clmarohn @StrongTowns pic.twitter.com/BVztOUHPm7

— Sean Emerson (@FourCornersSean) November 25, 2016

At the top of the Dillard's garage. I think they may have overbuilt the parking. #BlackFridayParking pic.twitter.com/nMTCSGIZMK

— Andrew Mayer (@scallop_potato) November 25, 2016

The new and improved Foothills Mall was built with more current parking requirements, and I believe it is in the transit oriented development overlay. But The merchant space is not at full capacity yet, including one anchor store that is completely empty. So I wouldn't expect the parking lots around the mall to be full, but I would expect them to be at least half full if the mall has been rented out to half capacity. Based on the sheer number of empty spots both on the ground and in the free parking structure, it looks like the mall might have too many parking spaces. Then again, maybe residents in the new apartments that are being built on the east side will end up using the extra space. That remains to be seen. #blackfridayparking #blackfridayparkingnoco #fortcollins

A photo posted by Meg Dunn (@pedalfortcollins) on Nov 25, 2016 at 10:44am PST

#blackfridayparking in So. Miami. Absurd parking requirements, in zoning, coating the planet in asphalt. @StrongTowns @clmarohn @RikAdamski pic.twitter.com/woJtoFkHQw

— Victor Brandon Dover (@VictorDover) November 25, 2016

#BlackFridayParking Before & After:
Kmart - Pekin, IL 2014 vs 2016 pic.twitter.com/SW2teEw2Lw

— Erik Reader (@Erik_Reader) November 26, 2016

We need to rethink parking and parking ordinances. Busiest shopping day of the year and all this empty space for "overflow parking". #blackfridayparking #strongtowns

A photo posted by DK (@dearsweetdarla) on Nov 25, 2016 at 2:31pm PST

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(Top photo by Strong Towns contributor, Alexander Dukes. See more of his #BlackFridayParking photos.)