Parking Madness: Tulsa vs. Philly [Updated]

2:31 PM EDT on March 22, 2013

Parking Madness, our hunt for the worst parking crater in an American downtown, continues today with two formidable contenders.

In one corner we have Tulsa: Oklahoma's second largest city, birthplace of the teen sensation Hanson (mmmBOP!), home to nearly 400,000 people. In the other corner, Philadelphia: cradle of democracy, birthplace of the Fresh Prince, and home of the cheesesteak.

Don't forget to vote at the bottom. Now, without further ado... Show us what you got, Tulsa!

Streetsblog reader Stephen Lassiter of Bike Walk Tulsa, sent us this description:

The southern half of downtown is almost entirely surface parking. Our City Council recently passed a moratorium on demolishing old buildings for surface parking while the city tries to come up with new parking regulations.

A recent article in Urban Tulsa Weekly reported the new surface parking lot ban passed with barely a peep of opposition. We can certainly see why. Now it looks like they need a plan to redevelop it.

Meanwhile in Philly, Twitter user @jjshetler singled out this eyesore at 13th and Market Street in the heart of the city:

Right near City Hall (visible in the background of the second photo), this lot mars Philadelphia's historic Market Street, also home to the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.

This parking lot definitely has the cavernous, crater-like ambiance going for it.

Winner: Tulsa!

(Update: It's come to our attention that the Philly photographs are out of date, and this site is no longer much of a parking crater. So, feel free to continue voting for the fun of it, but we are advancing Tulsa to the next round by default.)

Yesterday, Milwaukee blew away Jersey City.

Next up: Los Angeles versus Dallas