Evergreen – Memphis Flyer

If you drive past Midtown’s Cash Saver on Friday, you might be tempted to rubber-neck at an unusual spectacle in the street parking spaces, since, in honor of International Park(ing) Day, those spots will be converted into tiny parks.

Park(ing) Day is a global, public, participatory art project, explains Emily Bishop, board member of MidtownMemphis.org, the organization spearheading the event in Memphis. “That’s a mouthful,” she says, “but it’s where you temporarily repurpose street parking spaces into places for art, play, and activism. What we’re trying to do is get people to reimagine that area of Midtown.”

When the area around Cash Saver, Pho Binh, Crumpy’s Hot Wings, and the like was restriped to add bike lanes, the city added parking lanes, too. “Nobody uses them,” Bishop says. “They kinda get used as an inappropriate passing lane or turning lane. I mean, I see it all the time going to Home Depot.”

As such, safety is one of the points of awareness for this Park(ing) Day Project, the other point being to bring greenery to the space. The plan, Bishop says, is to plant black gum and maple trees along the sidewalk that runs east of Cash Saver on Angelus. “The sidewalk is 10-feet wide, and it has no power lines overhead, so it’s the perfect place for street trees,” she says, adding that under a tree’s shade it can be 10-15 degrees cooler, a much needed benefit during Memphis’ hot summer months. “We’re already working with Cash Saver and the City Engineer’s Office, and if all goes well, we hope to plant those trees in early November.”

Rendering of plans for tree-planting along Angelus (Credit: MidtownMemphis.org)

In the meantime, Friday will be MidtownMemphis.org’s second Park(ing) Day in front of Cash Saver. This year, the group has partnered with Memphis City Beautiful, Clean Memphis, Evergreen, Central Gardens, Neighborhood Preservation Inc. (NPI), The Works Inc., and The Home Depot.

“We’ll have some green carpet out there to make it feel like grass,” Bishop says. “There’ll be some games. We’ll have plants and bushes that’ll give you a feel of what that would be like. We’ll just see what the creativity of each of our partners is and what they do with their spaces.”

Giveaways and free snow cones will also be available, and attendees will have a chance to meet with the various groups to learn about upcoming projects and ways to volunteer.

Already, MidtownMemphis.org has planted native trees, bushes, and flowering plants on Avalon, behind Murphy’s and next to Crumpy’s.

“We were really inspired by the Medical District, the improvements they made, and, of course, Overton Square is so beautiful now,” Bishop says. “We just want this area in between to continue the good work and spread it on down. Everybody travels up and down that section of Madison.”

International Park(ing) Day, Madison Avenue in front of Cash Saver, Friday, September 16th, 3-7 pm.

Amanda Gillvery

A rendering shows the west end of the sidewalk.

If you’re driving around Midtown, be on the lookout for these two projects to get underway soon.

Overton Park Sidewalk

Construction was set to being Monday on a new sidewalk for Overton Park. It’ll run on the north side of Poplar from Kenilworth to Veterans Plaza, according to the Bike/Ped Memphis blog.

Google Maps

The black line shows where the new sidewalk will go.

The overall project will also include ”a curb extension at the northeast corner of Kenilworth and Poplar, reconstruction of the median island on the north side of the same intersection, and crosswalk enhancements.”

“The goal of the project is to improve safe pedestrian access to Overton Park and the existing bus stops on this segment of Poplar, which are currently inaccessible by people using wheelchairs or other mobility devices,” reads the post by Nicholas Oyler, Bikeway & Pedestrian program manager for the city of Memphis.
Amanda Gillvery

The lack of an accessible path poses a hazard to people with limited mobility or child strollers, according to Oyler.

A later phase of the project will extend the new sidewalk east of Veterans Plaza to a future entrance plaza at Cooper, according to Oyler. The extension and plaza are currently under design, and should begin construction in the next two years.

As the sidewalk is built, the westbound, outside lane of Poplar will be closed from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. on weekdays. Construction is expected to last about 45 days.

Amanda Gillvery

A rendering shows the east end of the new sidewalk.

Evergreen Mural
Memphis College of Arts

A rendering shows what the mural might look like on the building.

A new mural may soon grace the west-facing wall of Evergreen Presbyterian Church, one that its designers say highlights “the pedestrian-friendly culture of the Evergreen Historic District.”

That mural is now up for approval by the Memphis Landmarks Commission. A final vote on the mural is set for the commission’s meeting on Thursday, May 23rd.

The mural was conceived by the Memphis College of Arts (MCA) office of Community Outreach and Student Affairs. Student artists Chongjin Won and Anna Bearman. Their design was informed by comments from Evergreen neighbors gathered at three listening sessions in January and February.

Here’s what the artists said about the design in their application to the Landmarks Commission:

“Our goal for the mural is to highlight the pedestrian friendly culture of the Evergreen Historic District. Evergreen is defined by its cohesive architecture, rich history, and sense of community. We find these features to be the defining characteristics of the neighborhood.”

“On any given evening, too will find the residents running, biking, walking or strolling through the neighborhood. As the evening winds down, you will find neighbors on their front porches chatting with one another with the gentle sound of the rustling leaves and cars passing in the distance.
Memphis College of Arts

An artist’s rendering of the mural.

”The design incorporated all of these elements into a mural that truly represents Evergreen Historic District. Set at the golden hour of dusk, our mural depicts the neighborhood teeming with activity: children playing, dogs being walked, parents strolling with their infants, and neighbors biking.”

Read the full application here: [pdf-1]