Parking crater

A parking crater is a sizeable area of surface parking adjacent to a large downtown. Parking craters usually form when dense areas of buildings are torn down in order to facilitate free or low-priced parking for commuters.
Examples
In Rochester, the largest parking crater extends between North Chestnut Street, Main Street, North Clinton Avenue and the Inner Loop.
Tulsa's well-known parking crater stretches roughly seven blocks from Denver to Elgin avenues and then from Eighth to 13th streets.
The largest component in Grand Rapids' parking crater is a lot located at 41 Market Ave. SW.
Remediation and prevention
The area near Seattle's Northgate transit station has been labeled as a parking crater. It is now slated to be the site of a transit-oriented development project.
Some cities have had luck legislating away the problem. In Denver, city legislation prohibiting property owners from demolishing buildings and turning them into parking lots played a drastic role in reducing the footprint of the city's parking crater. Salt Lake City has also passed an ordinance that similarly restricts demolitions related to parking.

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