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

Today we're kicking off the action the round of eight in Parking Madness, Streetsblog's annual tournament seeking out the worst excesses of America's urban parking fixation.

The parking craters that have secured spots in the Elite Eight hail from HoustonLansingProvidenceGreenvilleFremont, Philadelphia, and Hicksville, with voting still open in the San Diego vs. Nashville contest.

Two impressive downtown craters face off below for a spot in the Final Four, as Lansing, Michigan, takes on  Greenville, North Carolina.

Lansing

lansing_crater
false

Seats of government are an interesting parking crater genre. Something about the government's ability to hand out free car storage perks seems to generate an abnormal volume of surface parking. Two parking near the U.S. Capitol have competed in Parking Madness, and so has Hartford, Connecticut.

The parking crater in downtown Lansing might top them all. Here is reader Rick Brown's guide to the area around the Michigan Statehouse:

Yes. Most of these lots are for State of Michigan employees or visitors, particularly those between Kalamazoo and Ottawa Streets, west of Pine Street. The series of buildings between Allegan and Ottawa west of the capitol itself are all state offices and the one north of the circle on Washtenaw is the State Historical Museum and Archives.

Greenville

greenville crater
false

Downtown Greenville, North Carolina, is a restaurant and entertainment destination. But as you can see, except for a few blocks, it's mostly set up for people to drive everywhere instead of walking. East Carolina University, with 29,000 students, is just out of frame to the southeast.

Our anonymous submitter writes:

Look carefully and you'll notice that half of Greenville, NC's downtown is parking and/or vehicular right-of-way. With a campus of 30,000 immediately adjacent (you can see buildings in the lower right portion of the picture), there's almost a complete lack of bike racks. Amazing, the four city-block surface parking lot is reserved for university students, while the garage and two city-block surface lot immediately across the street is for city government staff. Eight city blocks, six parking lots and a parking garage. Crater status confirmed.

Which belongs in the Final Four?

parking_madness_2018
false

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Open Streets Are Shrinking Thanks to ‘Lukewarm’ City Support: Lander

Another silver lining from the pandemic retreated under Mayor Adams.

April 27, 2025

Trump DOT Sec. Sean Duffy Is Dead Wrong About New York City’s Bike Lanes

Sean Duffy says he hasn't seen enough data to believe in the benefits of bike lanes. So we put together this cheat sheet to help him out — mostly using information from his own department.

April 25, 2025

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
See all posts