NYC.gov Holiday Traffic Plan Makes Way for NASCAR

nascar.jpg 

Gridlock Sam warns of widespread "pedlock and "traffic wrath" today. Not helping matters was this morning’s NASCAR Victory Lap around Times Square, conveniently timed to coincide with the morning rush.

Times Square will serve as one big pit stop for NASCAR’s annual Victory Lap
Wednesday, starting at 44thSt. between Broadway and Sixth Ave. and proceeding
via the following route: 44th St., Broadway, 42nd St., Madison Ave, 53rd St. and
Seventh Ave./Broadway, and ending between 43rd and 42nd Sts. outside the Hard
Rock Cafe. Between 8:30a.m. and 9:30a.m., there will be rolling closures on the
above streets, with 44th St. closed from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. Traffic will be
affected throughout the day.

Fear not, New York City, 2007 may very well be the last year of NASCAR’s annual Midtown celebration of laundry detergent, motor oil and the lunacy of American car culture. Tom Bowles at Sports Illustrated writes: 

After 27 years in the Big Apple, strong rumors persist that this
week-long celebration at the Waldorf will be NASCAR’s last; the event
appears ready and raring to shift to the bright lights of Vegas for
2008 and beyond.

On paper, it seems a smart move; with a race track already nearby and the shrewd promotion of octogenarian track owner Bruton Smith, the city will doubtless embrace NASCAR with open arms.

"I think we’ve worn out our welcome in New York," said Smith

Correct.

Photo: Photo Gallery / Flickr

  • hmph

    i have only a few choice words for NASCAR.

    whoops, this is an extended livable streets family oriented site. i can’t say what i really want to say, but to quote the inimitable captain haddock:

    billions of blue blistering barnacles! thousand thundering typhoons! ectoplasm! sea urchin! #$$@%$#%@%%^^&*%@#$!!!!!

    all in all, i will glad to see them go and hope this really puts the final nail in the coffin for a NASCAR track anywhere in the city.

  • If there is any credibility at all to the Peak Oil theory, then the whole concept of auto racing is incredibly irresponsible, eh?

  • Jonathan

    Ken, I share your lack of interest in auto racing, but bicycle racing is probably even more ethically compromised.

    If instead of a motorcar-focused event they held a cycling “victory lap” (or even a 5k run for charity) on the same streets on the same time, wouldn’t that have the same effect on rush-hour traffic?

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

DOT Previews Big Plans at Greenway Summit

By Brad Aaron |
The Ninth Avenue cycle track will be extended 10 blocks north to 33rd St. Transportation Alternatives held its 3rd Annual Greenway Summit on Tuesday, where keynote speaker Jon Orcutt, Director of Policy for NYC DOT, outlined the city’s plans for expanding cycling infrastructure over the coming year. Here are the highlights, via the Tri-State Transportation […]

Times Square: Livable Streets Mecca, Retail Sensation

By Brad Aaron |
Two years after Mayor Bloomberg and NYC DOT remade Times Square, the city’s premiere public space is one of the world’s leading shopping destinations. Crain’s reports that annual rankings from international real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield place Times Square among the ten most desirable retail locations on the planet, topped in New York only […]