But You Should NOT Be Surprised When The Courier Journal Hails The "Speedway Largess" As "Considerable Pluses".
Editorial | Kentucky Speedway fixes
State Transportation Cabinet and Kentucky Speedway officials who unveiled a plan to improve parking and traffic at the Gallatin County auto racing track at least have one thing going for them: There’s nowhere to go but up.
In fairness, though, they have more than that in their favor. The fix they offered Tuesday is an aggressive approach to remedying what was a debacle July 9 at the Quaker State 400, the speedway’s inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
With Gov. Steve Beshear doing the honors, the state and speedway announced commitments of more traffic lanes off Interstate 71, a widening of Ky. 35, a new parking area for 10,000 vehicles, a new pedestrian tunnel, a new company handling parking management and an overhauled traffic plan.
This won’t get done for free. Of the overall price tag of more than $11 million, the Transportation Cabinet intends to tap into its contingency fund to pay the state’s share of $3.6 million. In the long haul, both the private and public investment should be repaid many times over by the spinoff economic benefits and the tax revenues of an event that attracts over 100,000 people.
Some people who spent hours stuck in traffic in July — in some cases without ever reaching the speedway — doubtless harbor understandable bad feelings.
But one hopes that they will give the speedway and state officials a second chance when the next Quaker State 400 rolls around. The pluses of having big-time NASCAR racing in Kentucky are considerable, and the announced improvements hold significant promise.
State Transportation Cabinet and Kentucky Speedway officials who unveiled a plan to improve parking and traffic at the Gallatin County auto racing track at least have one thing going for them: There’s nowhere to go but up.
In fairness, though, they have more than that in their favor. The fix they offered Tuesday is an aggressive approach to remedying what was a debacle July 9 at the Quaker State 400, the speedway’s inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
With Gov. Steve Beshear doing the honors, the state and speedway announced commitments of more traffic lanes off Interstate 71, a widening of Ky. 35, a new parking area for 10,000 vehicles, a new pedestrian tunnel, a new company handling parking management and an overhauled traffic plan.
This won’t get done for free. Of the overall price tag of more than $11 million, the Transportation Cabinet intends to tap into its contingency fund to pay the state’s share of $3.6 million. In the long haul, both the private and public investment should be repaid many times over by the spinoff economic benefits and the tax revenues of an event that attracts over 100,000 people.
Some people who spent hours stuck in traffic in July — in some cases without ever reaching the speedway — doubtless harbor understandable bad feelings.
But one hopes that they will give the speedway and state officials a second chance when the next Quaker State 400 rolls around. The pluses of having big-time NASCAR racing in Kentucky are considerable, and the announced improvements hold significant promise.
Labels: Keeping them honest, Kentucky politics
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 10:10 AM
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