Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In

It's almost a shame that these two titans are meeting in the second round of the Parking Madness tournament, because both Tampa and Fort Worth look like they have champion potential.

Yesterday, Syracuse knocked off Newport News, Virginia, to join Camden in the Final Four. Now it's up to you to decide who gets the third slot.

Tampa

original-9

This crater advanced past Waterville, Maine in round one. Submitter Joshua Redman wrote:

This area is adjacent to both the Tampa Bay Times Forum (where the Lightning play) and the middle of downtown. Aside from the sea of designated parking lots, the empty lots in the bottom left of the picture are used as overflow parking during games. There is almost NO lighting and sidewalks.

Outside the picture to the left is Harbour Island, an island with million dollar condos and a beautiful riverwalk. Outside the picture at the bottom is the Channelside district, a new district of mixed use condos and retail, very walkable. And to the top and right is the central business district. This crater separates the three areas and is a pedestrian wasteland.

Was it always a wasteland? Apparently not. Here's the same area of Tampa as it looked in 1969, before the highway, courtesy of Shane Hampton at the University of Oklahoma's Institute for Quality Communities:

jacksonville_before

Let's see how our next quarterfinalist measures up.

Fort Worth

get

Fort Worth topped Boise in the first round. The entry came from an anonymous source, who said:

Fort Worth, TX. Right next to downtown. Featuring not one, not two, but THREE 6-7 story parking garages spaning five city blocks. That would be fine, but there are another eight full blocks with surface parking lots (three of them are riverfront property) with an additional five blocks partially taken by surface parking. Oh, and there's on street parking as well. Overkill...

We have a historical image of this area as well. Thanks again, Shane!

streetsblog_fortworth1952

Unrecognizable.

Tell us which one earned a trip to the Final Four:

parking_madness_2015

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday Video: Should We Stop Calling Them ‘Low-Traffic Neighborhoods’?

Is it time for London's game-changing urban design concept to get a rebrand?

January 30, 2026

Friday’s Headlines Yearn to Breathe Free

While EVs aren't the be-all end-all, especially when it comes to traffic safety, they do make the air cleaner. Most of the U.S. is falling behind on their adoption, though.

January 30, 2026

Talking Headways Podcast: One Year of Congestion Pricing

Danny Pearlstein of New York City's Riders Alliance breaks down how advocates made congestion pricing happen in the Big Apple.

January 29, 2026

Improving Road Safety Is A Win For The Climate, Too

Closing the notorious "fatality target" loophole wouldn't just save lives — it'd help save the human species from climate catastrophe, too.

January 29, 2026

Delivery Workers Are the Safest Cyclists On the Road, Study Finds

Deliveristas are less likely to engage in roadway behaviors that endanger pedestrians or themselves. So why are they so villainized?

January 29, 2026

The Cup Runneth Over With Thursday’s Headlines

Density lends itself to an abundance of transportation options and an abundance of money saved by not driving, writes David Zipper.

January 29, 2026
See all posts