10/21/2006 - READ MY LIPS: NO NASCAR
Here is the text of a letter I sent to Tim Sheldon. I think I'll send it to other legislators as well.
For those who don't know, Kitsap County is hoping to build a NASCAR track a mile or two from my house - with PUBLIC and private funds. I am totally against the entire proposal for a long list of reasons. Yes, there is a bit of NIMBY-ism there, but my concerns extend far beyond that:
Hi Tim,
Long time hard core Republican here, and one of your very vocal supporters, though I don’t live in your county. Just close to it. You and Derek Kilmer are my two favorite Democrats.
I’m writing to let you know my opposition to the race track, period. Whether it’s built with public or private funds. There are people like me who choose to live here because we ARE rural and because we DON’T have racetracks and congestion and Gregoire-like taxes to support everything that already should have been supported with better fiscal management.
This is a beautiful, attractive area with plenty of opportunities for our youth – if not in our own communities, then at least within earshot and driving distance. Please work hard to preserve this life. I don’t want to have to move to Idaho, but I will if this continues.
I am a professional, land-owner, father of three young daughters and a lover of Kitsap County. I will no longer love it if it starts to look like Seattle or Tacoma or any other metropolitan area – in any way. I love Dick Hayes and know him well, but he’s one of the drivers of this “metropolis” vision. I’m happy to see him and Bozeman rework downtown Bremerton, but let's leave it there. It doesn’t have to propogate throughout the county and certainly not into my neighborhood.
Yes, there is a little NIMBY-ism going on here as I live very close to the proposed track and right on a perfect traffic “escape route” – Lake Helena. But if it goes in and I move, it, or something similar, would just pop up there. If I want to see a race, I’ll travel. If I want to go to a big-box store, I’ll drive. I enjoy my freedom of movement.
But I also like to come home and not deal with traffic and not see my neighbors and just enjoy my family and my little place on this world.
All the best to you,
Jim W. Coleman
Comments
How is that area zoned? Are they having to jump through hoops to get it changed so as to allow for building a track?
Posted by: Paul E. Zimmerman | October 22, 2006 5:02 PM
Yes, and it is very controversial. Here's a website I found this morning with more information on it. And curious, check out the name of the site! It's not in any way related to mine.
www.tangledwebsite.net.
Posted by: Jim W. Coleman | October 23, 2006 5:25 AM
95,000 seats! And only enough parking for 25,500 vehicles? The creation of the site aside, that mix right there is a huge recipe for disaster.
Martin Stadium here at WSU has a seating capacity of something like 33,000, and there's hardly any parking available that is specifically for the stadium. As a result, people park their cars in ridiculous places along roads, and even in private driveways!
The only way I could see this project ever coming off without causing a major upset in the area would be for the developer to create a massive off-site parking facility with a fleet of shuttles. Otherwise, it will probably take days at a time for attendees to clear out of the facility following each race, and that's bad news for residents who need to be to work on Monday...
Posted by: Paul E. Zimmerman | October 23, 2006 7:32 AM