Skip to Content
Streetsblog San Francisco home
Streetsblog San Francisco home
Log In
Streetsblog USA

Parking Madness “Elite Eight”: Kansas City vs. Grand Rapids

One more round, and we'll be down to the worst-of-the-worst parking craters in the Parking Madness bracket, our annual search for the worst excesses in urban surface parking.

Parking overkill has certainly done a lot of damage to both of today's competitors -- Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Kansas City. We need you to help us decide which city will join Jacksonville in the Final Four and get a shot at the Golden Crater.

First up, Kansas City. It's rough just to look at this disaster:

false

This area is just one of a number of desolate Kansas City parking landscapes that readers nominated for the competition. Imagine walking from one end of this asphalt zone to the other. Someone in Kansas City should do it and tell us what it's like.

Moving on. Here's the competition in Grand Rapids:

false

Ah, nothing stirs the soul like waterfront surface parking. This spot bears a couple of hallmarks of the classic American parking crater: proximity to an urban highway and to a nearby sports arena -- in this case, Van Andel Arena, home of the Grand Rapids Griffins minor league hockey franchise. Looks like the highway/arena combo has really done a number on this part of downtown.

Only the most obscene parking monstrosities deserve a spot in the Final Four of parking craters, however, so let us know which one you think is worse.

false

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog San Francisco

Op-Ed: It’s Time to Extend the Central Subway to North Beach

There are abandoned tunnels under Stockton Street: here’s how they could transform San Francisco’s subway system.

May 8, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: ‘Normal’ is Not Correct, Someone Died Here

After a crash, the debris is quickly cleaned up and everyone moves on (usually too quickly). But these two experts are asking us to all slow down.

May 8, 2025

State Supreme Court Rules for Oakland Cyclist Injured by Pothole on Skyline Blvd.

When Ty Whitehead was injured in a crash caused by a pothole in Oakland, it sparked an eight-year legal battle that is still being waged.

May 7, 2025
See all posts