Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In

It's an intra-Missouri battle today in the fourth match-up of Parking Madness, Streetsblog's annual hunt for the worst parking craters in North America.

Which rival will advance to the round of eight -- and a chance at the coveted "Golden Crater" -- Kansas City or St. Louis?

First up, the city they call KCMO:

kansascity3

The red outlines denote Kansas City's moonscape of parking craters. Submitter Emily Katherine says it's even worse: Many of the buildings between surface parking lots are parking garages. Which begs the question, where on earth are all these car owners headed? From the looks of things there just aren't that many places left to go.

Onward to St. Louis:

stlouis

Alex Ihnen at NextSTL sends us this beauty. He notes that this is a publicly subsidized parking crater -- as God and nature intended -- which is "bookended by two parking garages." This is the area St. Louis calls Ballpark Village, and it was supposed to be the site of a mixed-use development not long ago. Now the developer says the market won't bear it and all taxpayers have to show for their investment is this embarrassment, jokingly dubbed "Carpark Village."

parking_madness_2014_4

Which is worse, readers? Collect yourselves and weigh in below.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Book Excerpt Special: Jonathan Lethem’s ‘Program’s Progress’

Class struggle. Infirm secondary superheroes. Suicidal sheep. It’s all in Jonathan Lethem's new collection of short stories, "A Different Kind of Tension." Here's an excerpt — featuring class struggle with cars!

November 26, 2025

Welcome to the Jungle, Wednesday’s Headlines

The COP30 climate summit in the Amazon rain forest exposed world leaders to the effects of climate change, but they still failed to take action.

November 26, 2025

Safety’s Last for Tuesday’s Headlines

A ProPublica investigation found 30 instances where DOT actions under President Trump endanger lives.

November 25, 2025

Is Austin a Vision Zero Leader Hiding In Plain Sight?

Changes have been slow in Bat City, but they are meaningful and starting to show success.

November 24, 2025

‘Dirty and Embarrassing’: Disgraced Former Gov. Fights Against Street Safety in Mayoral Run

All eyes are on the Garden State's second city, where a former governor plots a comeback with a divisive, anti-safety campaign.

November 24, 2025

Monday’s Headlines Are Bussin’

The U.S. DOT released $2 billion for 165 agencies to buy 2,400 new buses.

November 24, 2025
See all posts