We’re used to hearing about the strides being made in the revitalization of Fort Worth’s downtown and Sundance Square, and the city does deserve credit for its efforts. However, it’s not like our neighbor to the west is a shining light of urban planning. In fact, it’s doing remarkably well in a tournament of dubious distinction, Streetsblog’s annual Parking Madness tournament.
The tournament pits 16 cities against each other who “vie for the coveted Golden Crater, awarded to the most horrendous pit of parking to blight an American downtown.” And Fort Worth is performing solidly, leading its elite eight showdown against Tampa. Here’s what gives Fort Worth an edge:
Right next to downtown. Featuring not one, not two, but THREEE 6-7 story parking garages spanning 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 partically taken by surface parking. Oh, and there’s on street parking as well. Overkill . . .
The post runs with an historical image that shows what the area looked like before the onslaught of parking. And if you’re wondering where Dallas is in this tournament, this city wasn’t entered this year, but in previously years Dallas has performed strongly. In 2013, it made the Final Four along with Milwaukee, Houston, and Tulsa (Milwaukee won, but lost to Tulsa in the finals), and in 2014 Dallas lost to Jacksonville in the elite eight.
