Skip to content

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.

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:

kansascity3

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:

grandrapids

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.

parking_madness_2014_9
Photo of Angie Schmitt
Angie is a Cleveland-based writer with a background in planning and newspaper reporting. She has been writing about cities for Streetsblog for six years.

Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.

Comments are closed.

More from Streetsblog New York City

Opinion: Sean Duffy’s ‘Golden Age’ of Dangerous Streets

Ethan Andersen
December 15, 2025

‘I’m Always on the Bus’: How Transit Advocacy Helped Katie Wilson Become Seattle’s Next Mayor

December 12, 2025

Watchdog Wants Hochul To Nix Bus Lane Enforcement Freebies for MTA Drivers

December 11, 2025

More Truck Routes Are Coming To A Street Near You

December 11, 2025

Upstate County’s New Bus Service Will Turn A Transit Desert Into A Rural Network

December 11, 2025
See all posts