Drive, ferry or bus - Will it sit well?
One of the biggest obstacles that International Speedway Corporation has to deal with regarding the Staten Island NASCAR track is traffic. With poor management of public transportation and horrific traffic jams in the island, the residents have raised traffic as one of the major points they are urging International Speedway Corporation to stop their plans.
“If and when the NASCAR track is built here on Staten Island , we can only see red. It's bad enough as it is with only one way out. I can't imagine what it will be like to have so many people from all over the country come streaming in during race weekends! It would be unimaginable and I don't want to think Staten Island have turned into a fun fare”, says Sally Browings who has been a resident of Staten Island ever since she was a young child.
NASCAR officials know of the concern and have said in their amended plans that they would not allow more than 8,400 cars to park at the track with a large percentage of the parking bays allocated for local residents. This way, the number of cars coming into the island during race days will be significantly reduced. That's the plan. How would others come to the race if there isn't a way for them to get into the island? Well, the plan is to charter every single ferry and bus in and around Staten Island to cater for the incoming flood of NASCAR fans during race days. International Speedway Corporation representative said that every ticket will come with a selected mode of transportation – which means to say that NASCAR fans who plan to come for the race will prepay for the race and mode of transportation at the same time. Without stating the mode of transportation, they can't get into the race.
The plan might seem conducive at the moment but whether it will work or not remains to be seen. Some residents have raised this question in relation to the parking-transportation plan. At the end of the day, ISC is concerned about the ticket sales – they are not going to build the track for charity, that's for sure. They're going to worry over ticket sales. So, if this ferry-drive-or-bus thing doesn't go well with NASCAR fans and the tickets are not selling, we can safely say that ISC will come up with other plans to TRY to get the cars into the island in the future?
What's stopping them then since the NASCAR track is already there?