Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In

The search is on for America's Worst Parking Crater™ and today we're getting to know two more contenders in the 2018 Parking Madness bracket.

Houston, LansingProvidence, and Greenville have secured spots in the Elite Eight. Voting remains open in yesterday's D.C. vs. Fremont match.

Today's match: A gargantuan sports complex in Philadelphia takes on a college campus in Long Beach, California, that leaves a lot to be desired.

Philadelphia

philly_crater

The South Philadelphia Sports Complex came to our attention via an anonymous reader. This is a rare triple threat, housing Citizens Bank Park (home of the Phillies), Financial Field (home of the Eagles), and Wells Fargo Center (home of the 76ers).

Instead of working out some sort of shared parking arrangement for these venues, it looks like Philadelphia paved enough asphalt just in case all three teams play at the same time and no one takes the train. Most of the year, as you can see in this photo, most of this space isn't even used.

"Sure, some of the parking lots have solar panels on them," our contributor writes, "but that doesn't excuse the awful urban design and unwalkability."

Long Beach

Screen Shot 2018-03-30 at 4.04.47 PM


Reader Michael Sullivan nominated this parking crater at the Cal State Long Beach campus. He writes:

Instead of building dormitories, the University campus chose to build 14,006 parking spaces for it’s roughly 30,000 students. It now wonders why it is perceived as a 'commuter school.'

To top it off, one of the biggest, most prominent structures in the photo -- the rectangular grey building left of the pyramid -- is a parking garage.

parking_madness_2018

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Trump’s ‘EV Mandate’ Does Not Exist. But Car Dependency Does — And We Can End It

The new president has sworn to unravel Biden's EV plans. But would they have been enough to decarbonize the transportation sector without confronting how much Americans drive?

January 22, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines Get a Gentleman’s ‘C’

Transportation for America gave the Biden administration middling grades. Meanwhile, President Trump is already following through on promises to cancel EVs.

January 22, 2025

Drivers Keep Hitting Pedestrians In Front of An Iconic St. Louis Ice Cream Shop. Advocates Are Fighting Back.

A series of crashes outside a popular St. Louis landmark carries a larger lesson about traffic violence, and the cost of government inaction.

January 22, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines Take Me Home, Country Roads

Getting around without a car in a small town isn't easy, as one Fast Company writer found out. More bike lanes and denser town centers would help.

January 21, 2025

How America Can Reconnect Its Neighborhoods Before the Next Climate Catastrophe

America is replete with sprawling, disconnected neighborhoods that send residents out of their way by design. A new study explores just how bad it is — and what we can do about it.

January 21, 2025
See all posts