La Brea parking spaces turned into temporary parks for National Parking Day

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- To celebrate National Parking Day, artists turned metered parking spaces in La Brea into temporary public parks. The annual project helps to get people interacting and talking about the need for open space.

A garden-themed picnic setting, including a foosball table, is not what you typically expect to see on the side of a busy street, but that's exactly what you would find in La Brea on Friday.

"We've installed four parks: one on La Brea, one on Wilshire, one on Fairfax and one on Melrose, and the idea behind the project is to get the community exploring how we use public space. We're trying to get the community to think outside the box," Mid-City West Board member Josh Paget said.

In honor of National Parking Day, metered parking spaces were converted into themed public parks at four locations, simultaneously.

"It's an interesting kind of play on how our society works, and it's kind of cool that he exposed that and kind of brings a lot of attention to the possibilities," street artist Solomon Perry said.

Perry, also known as "Grim Nasty," knows a thing or two about possibilities. His job Friday was to create an optical illusion: a gigantic visual vertical park on the building walls next to the sidewalk; also, spray painting the trees, making them appear as if they have no trunk and are simply floating.

"Next year, help us build another one in your neighborhood," Paget said.

The makeshift parks were in place until the end of the day.