Festivals at parks means more people and more litte

It's the start of festival time at parks and time to have plenty of strategies and park trash cans ready for the crowds and the litter bugs.

Spring is here and the season for outdoor festivals, fun times, great music…and alas, tons of trash. Park officials would be wise to have plenty of park trash cans on hand because for some reason, when it comes to crowds, common sense is usually the first thing that gets thrown out.

Take the impromptu 4:20 festival that is held every year at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. The event is held on "Hippie Hill" on April 20 and celebrates the smoking of a certain illegal substance.

Tens of thousands of people gather there every year to celebrate. But in their celebrating, many of them seem to totally forget the environmental movement of the sixties and continually trash the place. The grass is literally deluged with tons of discarded cups, bottles, papers, bags and assorted other items.

Malls start to see rise in occupancy rate

Malls are making a comeback and for mall managers, spring is the time to add more commercial outdoor furniture such as planters, benches, bike racks and outdoor ashtrays to keep that momentum alive.

In spite of a misled consensus that malls were doomed, the latest stats from the International Council of Shopping Centers shows that mall occupancy rates are now at the highest they have been in 27 years.

That's three, long, wrenching decades of recovery. Nearly 30 years of battling everything from recessions to smartphones shoppers.

"The 2014 data paints a very strong picture of the shopping center industry for the year ahead, and is especially promising in the mall segments," said ICSC spokesperson Jesse Tron. "Record growth in key indicators such as occupancy and NOI (Net Operating Income) strongly indicate a healthy outlook and further underline the ability of the industry to innovate to fit the needs of today's consumer."

The ICSC reports that

National parks are in trouble. According to park officials, there is an $11 billion backlog of work that needs to be done. That means there is a need for more park benches, roads, charcoal grills and outdoor trash cans.

As anyone involved with a park knows, parks are usually on the lower rung when it comes to funding in national and even state or municipal budgets. It's the first thing to be cut. On the national level, we spend quite a bit of money on federal subsidies, studies and submarines and at the end of the day that leaves little money for park tables, paint or maintenance programs.

The irony is that there are a whole lot more people who will visit a national park than crawl inside one of those submarines. In 2014, there were nearly 300 million visitors to national parks. That's quite a bit of use. That's quite a few people hiking trails, camping under the stars, cooking out on park grills and enjoying

Will cities of the future have parks built into buildings

Imagine this: You live in 50-story apartment complex and right in the middle of the building is an open space filled with outdoor park furniture, grass, flowers, fountains and a band shell.

Essentially, it's a building with a park built inside of it. Maybe even three or four parks every several floors. Strange, right?

Well, maybe not for long. This could be the next hot new trend in architecture as one such building is planned for New York City and is expected to be finished in 2017.

The apartment building will be built at 12 E. 37th Street and will reach 700 feet in height. The "parks" or common areas will be 33-foot high "pockets" built intermittently between a set number of floors. From drawings, these spaces appear to be have open views of the city along with shrubbery, furniture and even an outdoor big screen TV.

People are calling them "apartment parks."

Technically, are these actually parks? Are we looking at the beginning

Ralph Waldo Emerson said: "The civilized man has built a coach but lost the use of his feet." An inspiring quote that ties in perfectly with getting out of house this Monday, March 30, for National Take a Walk in a Park Day.

Naturally, the idea behind these celebratory days is to not wait every 365 days to actually do the task, e.g. plant a flower. Or to drive to a park, walk a few hundred feet and then sit on a park bench and check your email. There's always a message behind these designated mini-holidays.

The idea of National Take A Walk in A Park Day is to do more walking in the real world and less interacting with the digital world. Civilized man has not only built a coach (automobile) so people don't walk as much. He's also built desktop computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones, game consoles and 60-inch TVs with 300 channels that keep people in the house more and venturing out less.

The benefits of taking a walk in the park

Angels Falls in Canaima National Park, Venezuel

When it comes to trying to picking the best national parks in the world, it's sort of an non-winnable argument like choosing the best baseball or football player of all time.

What's the criteria you are going to use for national parks? Most scenic? Great lodging? Best park furniture? Easy access? Less access but less crowded?

Some people might prefer mountains as the main criteria. Others might select beaches. Some want trees. Others love wide-open spaces. Lakes. Rivers. Waterfalls. Deserts. Jungles. Volcanoes. There are certainly plenty of factors to consider.

It's a tough one.

But one of the great advantages of trying to select the greatest national park in the world is that unlike many departed sports figures, those parks are still here. You can go visit them yourself. Make your own determination.

For those of us in America, naturally we're biased toward Yellowstone National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Everglades National Park and

Christopher George (right) meets with David Kuhlman of Habitat for Humanity with metal bench and commercial bicycle rack

The Park Catalog recently donated site furnishings such as a metal bench and commercial bicycle rack to the Habitat for Humanity of South Palm Beach County and we are certainly proud to be involved with this organization.

What's impressive about this country is that with all the news going on, you don't see enough coverage of the tremendous accomplishments by non-profit organizations and volunteers who constantly strive every day to improve our communities.

One reason is that there is so much community work taking place every day around this country, this effort is not considered unique enough to be considered a news item. Because it is so prevalent, we tend to take it for granted.

But these people do deserve recognition because their labor exemplifies the American ideal of giving people a boost to achieve a better life. Certainly owning a home is one important milestone

Bud Caldwell visits his wife's memorial bench in Lakeside Park every day. But during the winter, the heavy Wisconsin snowfall makes it difficult for him. So on those days, he speaks to her from his car stopped near the park.

That is until two thoughtful park employees noticed him sitting there. They came to Bud's assistance and shoveled a path so he could make his way to the bench and the plaque displaying his wife's photograph.

The story behind Caldwell's routine is truly amazing. Every day for the past two years, the 82-year-old visits the memorial bench he bought to honor his late wife Betty. They spent 56 years together.

He brings a daisy, which he leaves for her to commemorate one of their favorite songs: "Daisy a Day." He also leaves a penny on top of the bench, to honor their other favorite tune, "Pennies from Heaven." He then speaks to her for a few minutes, telling her about his day.

Last year, when the Wisconsin snow was particularly heavy, Caldwell tried to make it to the memorial

Beach promotion in bus shelter (Photo by Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitor's Bureau

Talk about a gutsy move involving bus shelters. As if this winter wasn't rough enough for many northern cities, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitor's Bureau recently ran a promotion inside bus shelters in Chicago and Boston enticing frozen residents to leave the cold and visit the beach instead.

Can you imagine what that was like? Here you are standing in a bus shelter, bundled up against minus double-digit temperatures, waiting for your bus which is probably late given the latest blizzard, and some town in the south has the nerve to display a digital monitor streaming a live feed showing their sandy white beaches.

Yes, at that moment any sane person would prefer to be on a beach in Florida. Everybody shivering in bus shelters in the northern two-thirds of the entire US would probably like to be on a beach in Florida.

Beach promotion in Chicago bus shelte

The Greater Fort Lauderdale

Recovered bicycles waiting for owners (Source: Santa Cruz Police Department)

If your city has quite a few "sucker poles" where bicycles are stolen, adding commercial bike racks could make your business a hero to bicyclists.

What is a "sucker pole?" It's a name given to sign posts and other objects that at first appear to be a safe place to park a bike. However, these poles are generally not as secure as they look and can easily be unscrewed from their mountings or even just yanked out of the ground.

Many a disgruntled bicycle owner has returned to where they thought they parked their bike securely, only to find out, the item they hooked the bike to was not secure at all. Certainly not as anchored as a bona fide bike rack.

And with the high price of many bicycles today, the incentive for thievery is certainly there.

In fact, some bike theft rings (yes, just like organized auto theft rings) know exactly where these "sucker poles" are located and frequently drive around town in a van, ready

Aluminum bleachers at Wrigley Field (now gone). Photo by Kthypryn (Flickr

What do you do when your aluminum bleachers won't be ready on opening day? Hide under home plate? Get lost in the locker room? Run away?

This is certainly not a position any athletic director or site manager wants to be in. But that's what's happening to the Chicago Cubs as they officially announced they won't have 5,500 outfield bleacher seats ready for the coveted opening day game against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 5.

Ouch. Not a good way to start the year telling fans there won't be a place for them to sit. Opening day no less. The Chicago Cubs no less - those die-hard fans who truly believe at the start of every season that this could be THE YEAR.

Okay, hold on sports fans. You have to give the Cubs organization some credit. After all, they are spending $575 million dollars in private funding to renovate that relic of a stadium. That's nearly half a billion dollars.

And they are doing it with every effort

A bike parking rack map created by the city of Bosto

There's nothing more frustrating than planning a bike trip in a city for a day, finding some great locations to stop and then not finding a bike parking rack to secure your bike.

There's a solution for this - a bike map.

More and more American cities and towns are working hard to become more bicycle friendly. They are creating bike lanes, adding a bike parking rack to more locations and educating their citizens on everything from how to ride safely to how to lock their bikes correctly.

One very smart strategy is to create a bike map for a city or town. This gives bicyclists a clear path to a bike friendly day or commute.

For politicians and public officials, adopting a more bike friendly stance is smart. According to Statista, in the spring of 2014 there were 67.33 million Americans who reported they rode their bicycle in the past 12 months. That's nearly a quarter of the population - almost one out of four people.

That trend continues

Attractive and secure employee lockers help to create a positive atmosphere on the jo

How important are employee lockers in the workplace?

Consider that one of the biggest concerns of employees has nothing to do with their jobs. It's their personal belongings. And that's where employee lockers come into the picture. The quality of those lockers contributes to the overall picture of either a healthy or unpleasant work environment.

Employers and site managers would be smart to take into account several factors involving the use of employee lockers.

Because while American businesses have undergone tremendous changes in the past 50 years, employee lockers still remain a staple of the workplace.

Employee locker

Lockers have always been a part of the territory for factory workers, retailer clerks, restaurant workers, construction workers, public employees and all sorts of staff members.

It's a daily ritual. Drive, bus or take a train to work. Put your coat and valuables in your locker. Take a

Speed bumps and other parking lot supplies are essential to keep control of parking lots

Studies show parking areas can be dangerous places. But the right combination of speed bumps, traffic control devices, signs and other parking lot supplies can put a dent in potential injuries and crashes.

The statistics are scary. According to a study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, they found that 14% of all car crashes occurred in parking lots. That's nearly two crashes out of ten in a place where people are supposed to be safe and cars crawl by at low speeds.

What's even more frightening is the injuries to pedestrians. In research conducted by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, they estimate about 9,000 people are either injured or killed walking through parking lots every year. It doesn't have to be a store, work or school parking lot. The same danger is present in parking areas for apartment complexes or residential side streets.

Here's one problem.

Here's a fun space with fun dog park equipmen

This Sunday, Feb. 22, is National Walking the Dog Day and to maximize the benefits for Max and Fido, owners are going to be on the lookout for the right park with the right amount of dog park equipment.

And park managers would be smart to offer it.

After all, there are about 80 million canines in the US. It is estimated that from 37%-47% of all households have a pet dog. That means nearly half of local residents have a dog at home that is just itching to get out of the house and play on that day. According to the National Recreation and Parks Association, there are 1,200 dog parks in the US. During a five year period after 2005, dog parks grew a whopping 34% in our biggest cities.

This national event is the perfect time to promote the canine benefits of any local park. Or, it's the perfect time to pitch adding more dog park equipment to a select number of parks and immediately meet the pet needs of nearly half the population.

Here's the challenge