New York's biggest NASCAR worry: Slow-moving cars By ERIC DASH The New York Times NEW YORK - It is the question that has been on the minds of politicians and residents of Staten Island ever since NASCAR promoters laid eyes last year on a potential site for a race track in New York City.
In a borough notorious for traffic congestion, how will more than 95,000 fans and workers cram into a site with parking for only 8,400 cars?
International Speedway Corp., the company backing the $440 million project, provided its most detailed answer this week when it released a preliminary traffic study with elaborate park-and-ride plans, and it provided some insight into the potential merging of the New York and NASCAR cultures.
For instance, the plans also envision space for about 635 recreational vehicles, a style of life that New Yorkers have yet to catch on to, despite the obvious appeal of such low-cost housing in a real estate-mad city.
The site, an old oil tank farm, was described by International Speedway as New York City's largest block of undeveloped land. It will include a 620,000-square-foot shopping center to be developed by Related Retail Corp., a New York City real estate firm.
To alleviate congestion on the three major race weekends expected each year, the plan envisions more than 950 private shuttle buses and up to 100 fast ferries bringing fans from 16 off-site parking lots in New York and its surrounding areas to the Staten Island grandstands.
While a few proposed parking sites are just a few miles away racing fans might have to leave their cars in New Jersey, Queens, or Brooklyn, all 15 to 30 miles away.
"We are doing all of our planning to get people out in two hours," said John Graham, International Speedway's vice president of business affairs. "If a race fan has to sit in traffic too long, they will think twice about whether they will want to come out to that event."
Several Staten Island councilmen remain skeptical. "The plan is written as if the track will exist in a vacuum, without any consideration for existing traffic problems," said Michael McMahon. "There are many assumptions built on top of each other like a house of cards"
A Manhattan transportation consulting firm, Eng-Wong, Taub & Associates, said such concerns would be taken into consideration in emergency response plans.
There may, however, be more work to do on the community relations front. Marty Markowitz, the Brooklyn borough president, said he was unaware of plans to use Brooklyn sites as potential parking lots for Staten Island. "We have not heard about any proposal" Markowitz said.
I can't picture of bunch of campers, rv's, NASCAR trailers and trucks up in NYC. Although, who knows, if some of the other large cities can handle it, why can't New York? Parking at Daytona is horrible. It's surrounded by strip malls, restaurants, etc. Yet they manage. The track takes over all the parking lots in the area. Those people who own the lots make a fortune for the prices they charge per car.
traffic? are you kidding me the real problem will be when a kid with Home Depot Orange-colored clothing goes out at night in the Dupont Gang's territory! Of course that bad-ass gang Bud-Red will rule the streets whereever the choose to be.
In a couple of days we should know what is going to happen...First,the city has a vote on the Jets Stadium which I will be very surprised if they vote for it. The Dolan family's MSG is the 800lb gorilla and they don't want anyone to muscle in on their terriority. Then, if the stadium goes through and the Giants leave with the Jets to goto NYC....... BINGO! one race track in the Meadowlands coming right up.
