Seattlest: NASCAR Driving Circles Around Seattle Taxpayers

Robin

Tue, 03 Jan 2006 17:16:10 -0800

To rebut...actual NASCAR estimates are for 18,000-24,000 cars. If this many cars would create a 100 mile back log....the 60,000 cars they park at Talldegga in alabama...they must still be trying to leave the stadium from the October race! Also, I think there are still people stuck in traffic from Seafair, and they are still waiting to get out of Husky Stadium from Apple Cup! The traffic issue is a non issue. This will be the single greatest economic boom for Western Washington. If we (and the legislature) turn a blind eye to this opportunity, it will be pathetic. This is pure tourisim revenue. The cleanest type of revenue anyone can wish for. 10's of thousands of people coming to the state, dropping $1,000-$1,500 each in 3-4 days...then they leave! This can be the turning point we need in Kitsap County to make sure that if and when the Navy goes away we have healthy economic growth. All of these politicians would be jumping at the deal if this were actually in King County...imagine if they wanted this in Seattle proper??? They would be jumping all over each other to bring NASCAR. The fact that it is off of the I-5 corridor makes it a "bad idea." Don't believe the naysayers who have never set foot in a NASCAR community. The same folks against this track would be against ANY business moving to this part of Kitsap. Classic NIMBY Syndrome or CAVE...Citizens Against Virtually EVERYTHING!

ElliottBay

Mon, 12 Dec 2005 15:05:56 -0800

The current estimates are that a sold out event will draw about 85,000 people and about 35,000 vehicles. 35,000 vehicles (assuming that they are all the same size as a Honda Accord) lined up bumper to bumper would form a line OVER 100 MILES LONG. So by the time the 1st vehicle reached the Tacoma Narrows bridge (about 35 miles away), more than 2/3 of the vehicles would still be in the parking lot. And that's assuming (1) small vehicles, and (2) that they are actually touching each other. We're talking traffic jams of epic proportions. There is no sufficient traffic mitigation plan to resove this issue.

8Bit Jake

Mon, 12 Dec 2005 13:58:21 -0800

I am the president of Young Democrats of Kitsap County ( http://ydwa.org/kitsap/ ) and am an active member in the Kitsap County Democratic Party ( http://www.kitsapdemocrats.com/ ). We have been watching the Nascar plans for a while now and it looks like the issue will probably not come up for a vote in the 2006 legislative session because it has not been submitted in time to get on the agenda. So it might not be until January 2007 that the Nascar corporate welfare package gets a vote and hopefully it is going to be voted down. The longer that people have to learn about this deal the more likely it is going to be shot down. I have talked several of my legislators about the issue and no one wants to smoke what Nascar has put in the pipe. That being said Derek Kilmer kicks ass. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor: "There's a lot of fine print that has to be gone over and I'm waiting to see a lot of those details. ... I feel a substantial responsibility to taxpayers in Kitsap County and the state of Washington, and the safeguards they have now are insufficient. I don't want to see taxpayers on the hook." Kilmer said ISC may be coming to the Legislature too late. "The fact that details still are in process doesn't bode well for this session. Things like that take longer down here." Local Lawmakers Say They're Skeptical http://www.kitsapsun.com/bsun/local/article/0,2403,BSUN_19088_4280164,00.html