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

Transit is scarce enough already in the United States. Then we make it even less accessible by surrounding stations with parking.

In this year's Parking Madness tournament, we're getting a look at how, even near transit stations, parking takes up huge amounts of space, squandering opportunities for walkable development. So far, parking craters by transit stations outside St. Louis and Boston are through to round two, and voting is open until tomorrow afternoon in the San Bernardino vs. Chicago match.

Today we have two Metro-North station areas facing off, one on the Hudson Line and the other on the New Haven Line -- it's Poughkeepsie vs. Fairfield.

Poughkeepsie

poughkeepsie_train_station

Reader Jay Azruwent went to college in this New York town. Above you can see the immediate surroundings of its train station. The parking around the Metro-North stop is symptomatic of a broader problem downtown, he says:

Poughkeepsie was unfortunately hit with a large amount of urban renewal in the 1950s' through 60s'. The Poughkeepsie Central Business District was ripped apart and replaced with large surface parking lots. The city is trying to redevelop them but I think that the public shame of Parking Madness will help the county with the process.

Fairfield

fairfield_metro

In Connecticut, this recent addition to the New Haven Line was supposed to catalyze walkable development, but that hasn't happened, says reader Sandy Johnston:

Fairfield Metro opened in 2011 as an infill station on Metro-North's New Haven line (I used to watch construction during my trips between college in NYC and friends in New Haven). Intended, in part, to spur dense development in the surrounding area, the station has instead basically only functioned as a park-and-ride with a giant 1,500-space parking lot. Between developers missing the cratering market for large-scale office parks in Fairfield County and NIMBYism, the supposed TOD district around the station remains largely in stasis almost six years after opening.

You can vote below until Friday at 2 p.m. Eastern Time.

parking_madness_2017

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Friday Video: Check Out Lorde On a Bike!

The Kiwi singer is on the top of the charts — and in our bike-riding hearts.

April 25, 2025

RELAX: A New City Rule for Private Seating in Public Space Is More of the Same

A proposed new rule governing how much space restaurants can occupy on open streets is hardly controversial, John Surico writes.

April 25, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: Double DOT Incompetence Edition

What this city needs is a place to walk on the Queensboro Bridge ... and for the federal DOT to get out of our way. Plus other news.

April 25, 2025

Breaking: US DOT Threatens Cities for ‘Santuary,’ ‘DEI’ Policies

Advocates are raising the alarm about yet another vague and disturbingly broad letter from Sean Duffy — and the fierce battle that's likely to follow it.

April 24, 2025
See all posts