Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In

We're two weeks into our Parking Madness competition, and only a few parking craters are still standing.

Today's Elite Eight matchup pairs a Bay Area suburb with America's third largest city: It's El Cerrito, California vs. Chicago.

First up is El Cerrito, which was singled out for shame by one of our readers because of this crater's proximity to a BART station providing quick access to San Francisco.

bart1
false

The submitter pointed out that almost every BART station looks something like this, so in a sense the El Cerrito parking crater is standing in for the failure of an entire region to produce walkable development near transit.

Meanwhile, the Chicago crater suffers from sports venue syndrome:

chicago
false

We've seen this pretty consistently throughout the competition: In St. Louis, Grand Rapids, and Chicago, the spaces around public arenas are ghost towns inhabited only by cars.

This area, readers tell us, is especially disappointing because it has good transit access and is less than two miles away from the Loop. What a far cry from the walkability of Wrigleyville.

Tell us which crater you think deserves to reach the Final Four of Parking Madness.

parking_madness_2014_10
false

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Friday Video: Amtrak Is Way More Successful Than You Think

Why do so many people still treat Amtrak as a failure — and what would it take to deliver the rail investment that American riders deserve?

October 24, 2025

Hundreds of Community Groups — From the Conservatives to the Socialists! — Demand Daylighting

Two hundred New York City groups from across the ideological spectrum joined calls to ban parking at corners in order to improve safety and visibility, also known as daylighting.

October 24, 2025

OPINION: Canal Street — Not The Vendors — Is the Problem

If Zohran Mamdani becomes mayor — and is true to his vision for a fair, livable city — he will have to take on this long-ignored corridor. Here's how.

October 24, 2025

Vision Zero Cities: Bicycles Are Not Cars So They Shouldn’t Have to Follow the Same Rules

The default in nearly all states is to impose the same traffic rules on bicycles as on motor vehicles even though the needs of cyclists are so different.

October 24, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Today’s the Day Edition

Mayor Adams's new 15 mph speed limit is officially goes into effect today. Plus more news.

October 24, 2025

Cough, Cough: DEP Considers Largest Ever Exemption Request to City’s Anti-Idling Law

Academy Bus claims no technological alternatives exist for heating and cooling buses without idling. Advocates warn an exemption would "gut" the city's 50-year-old idling ban.

October 23, 2025
See all posts