Parking

New York City's placard class -- the elite few who park wherever they want, without consequence -- obviously includes police and other public servants. But don't forget the press.

[Before we started up the bracket for this year's Parking Madness tournament, I got in touch with Donald Shoup, who literally wrote the book on parking reform, and asked him to pick the worst parking crater in the field of 16. Here's his response, packaged with some advice for cities that have a parking crater problem. -- Angie Schmitt]

On Tuesday, the news came that after 41 years of teaching at UCLA, Donald Shoup, distinguished professor of urban planning, will retire. For all of us who have had our paths in life profoundly influenced by his research, writing, and teaching on parking and transportation, it's a good time to reflect. I never got to take a class from professor Shoup, but he has had more influence on my life and career than any of the professors whose classes I did attend.

A Sunset Park developer wants to use city land for a giant new parking lot, in what's shaping up to be a test for Council Member Carlos Menchaca and the NYC Economic Development Corporation.

We wrote last week that New York City allows drivers to park to the edge of crosswalks, which can make it more difficult for pedestrians and motorists to see each other. After we posted that story a reader noted that Washington, DC, does a good job with daylighting intersections.

March is a special month on Streetsblog. It's the time when the nation's worst downtown parking scars face off head-to-head for the shame of winning the "golden crater" -- and the local publicity bonanza that comes with it. For the third year running, we're asking you to help seed the bracket in our Parking Madness tournament by sending in photos of the sorriest wastes of urban space you can find.

We've reported before how certain New York City parking rules are designed to cram a little more free car storage onto the street at the expense of pedestrian safety. In 2009, DOT removed parking restrictions on unmarked crosswalks at T intersections, and the city allows drivers with disability permits to block curb ramps that were intended to help pedestrians with disabilities cross the street.

New York is one step closer to overhauling a discredited policy that drives up the cost of housing and makes traffic congestion worse, but the scope of the reforms the de Blasio administration is pursuing remains limited.