right of way man. those who are faster and more squirly get it.

where is right of way ever defined in a public park or square?

just because you are moving faster everyone else needs to get out of your way?

SDR that is a really lovely bench. I completely adore it. I love the little "coffee shelf" above the back, and how slender the cedar pieces are compared to the butch posts. Lovely.

there are a bunch of trees in the sidewalks that could stand to have some nicely designed benches around them like that SDR. it would help protect the trees, which seem to get junked a lot if there is nothing around them. this is a nice solution to that

i have a tree right outside my house, i would love something like that but i am afraid my neighbors kids would junk it up like they have my front steps

nobody needs to get out of the way, they just need to not stand still blocking the way. personally i have never had a problem or seen one less it was with a punk ass security guard with a bighead.

if it never happened, then there wouldnt be this issue

sitting on a bench isnt blocking the way
walking down the sidewalk isnt blocking the way

seriously, it happens, lets not kid ourselves

maybe it's just me i find walking hard, I'd rather skate, even from the parking lot the the front door.

kids? aren't we all or is this a ageist statement

not sure if you were you talking to me? i said lets not kid ourselves, i didnt call anyone kids

if a skater falls and tries to sue, the owner can turn around with charges of trespassing/vandalism. I'd be more afraid of the parents showing up with a baseball bat at my door.

what if it was a business and he bought something before he fell and his parents tried to sue? (all hypothetical of course)

I am not sure on the details of the money DC shoes offered. Pretty sure it was to bring the park back to original. That place is a destination for international skaters. one of the most well known skate spots in the world. Ricky Oyola and EE3 baby.

No actual skateboarders would sue anyone. It annoys me that public skateparks have helmet and pad rules when i see people playing tennis and basketball on public facilities with no protective gear.

Thanks driftwood and liberty bell (and sorry to sidetrack this thread). The tree is actually strapped at ca. six feet as well; the pole in turn is lightly cabled to a steel sign post (above head height) out of frame to the right.

The back rail is coped, but we are now considering adding a shelf as mentioned by LB. . .

Is it coped, really? it didn't look like it. Really nice job.

Oh wait, what were we talking about? Love Park? That pic/protest by Ed Bacon is a favorite of mine. Rock on in the afterworld, Ed!! What Philly did to Love Park reigns in my mind as one of the stupider decisions a civic entity could make. So sad.

No one likes to see homeless people sleeping on benches, for all kinds of reasons, not least of which is guilt. Personally, when i used to take my son to the local playground on Saturday mornings and would find someone sleeping in the play structure, I would let the kid play for a little while and the person would typically wake up and leave. I hated feeling I was kicking someone out, but also felt like the park *was* intended for kids to play on, not for naps by anyone. Benches are a harder question: if I want to claim an entire bench in Rittenhouse Square for a day, reading the paper, eating lunch, working on my laptop, is that somehow more acceptable than someone laying down on it for the same length of time?

Good point.

In that vein, what's with the general me-first demeanor now commonplace on the streets and sidewalks ?? Do drivers REALLY need to honk AFTER a maneuver, just to "flip off" the other driver ? And, it used to be the norm for a group (of two or more) pedestrians to compress themselves when approaching others on the sidewalk, rather than forcing a singe person to stand aside for their passage. Not any more. . .

Will republican operatives start using uncomfortable benches as a means of voter disenfranchisement in ohio?

yes! republicans are evil and want to deny votes to anyone except those within their chosen elite group!

Great discussion, I'm forming a photography resource on flickr mainly about the skateboarding/urban sport here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/skatability/

Check out this ledge at the AIA headquarters in DC:

view on the Skatability flickr resource

At least the ledge is granite. Most of DC is granite and stands up pretty well to grinding. But I like how Dustin points out above that 'we're a little late to the game.'

*bump*

Now this is a really evil bench!





the Pay & Sit bench, by Berlin-based artist Fabian Brunsing. Check out the
video.

Treekiller-

Couldn't agree more, great post.

I need to comb through the rest of the messages, but my general comment would be that there has been a snaitation and homogenization of public space in America (and probably abroad), particularly over the last 50 years. Modernism movement played a large role in the minimalization of experience in public space.

Thanks for bumping the thread.

when I read the thread title I was expecting something like this:

"Sit here . . .if you dare" ?

Evil bench from Barry .. that's funny