Think you can play volleyball in a parking stall? How about turning a single parking stall into a croquet pitch?

On Sept. 16, the imagination will be the only limiting factor in the transformation of 20 downtown parking stalls into public space during what is known as PARK(ing) Day.

Individuals and community groups can apply for one of the 20 permits available to create a temporary park or public space at a specified parking spot downtown. As of Friday, there was still a handful left.

Previous uses have included the temporary installation of turf and flowers to lawn bowling and picnic areas. There have been yoga classes, random acts of kindness, as well as Scrabble, croquet, and chess tournaments.

PARK(ing) Day began in 2005 in San Francisco. Lucas said the idea is to let people reconsider the public use of space. Mayor Dean Fortin said PARK(ing) Day is a way to poke fun at the urban experience.

"It has a higher purpose of saying, a bit tongue in cheek, why do we need so much parking downtown? Are there alternate modes of transportation?

Look at how much of our public spaces are taken up for private parking," Fortin said.

"Often we've heard comments like 'the best views in town are reserved for cars down in the Inner Harbour.' Then you think about all the surface parking lots that ... could be filled with shops and offices and residences and many other higher uses, and yet we reserve them for cars."

Cycling advocate and city councillor John Luton said parking affects everyone whether they're in a car or on a bike. "For some places [events like PARK(ing) Day] are probably a precursor to conversion of spots to different uses," Luton said.