The many reasons and arguments as to why Staten Island should not have its own Nascar Track.
With the discussions, process of getting permits and trying to win over the hearts of the Staten Island folks, let's take a very quick look at how the Nascar Track would affect the people of Staten Island and why so many people are opposing it.
It is believed that, as it is, the Staten Island infrastructure is fragile. With the Nascar Track, it could only be a burden to the island and be of no or very little benefit to the residents of Staten Island .
Another popular contention that has been raised a lot of times ever since the track was proposed…traffic woes. Even without the Nascar Track, the state of traffic condition in Staten Island is at an all time low. Many people have to endure hours and hours of traveling just to get to their work places and weekends are no exceptions as well. With the Staten Island Nascar Track, the traffic, the residents feel, can only get worse…not better.
The International Speedway Corporation plan is also under attack from the EPA. Race cars uses fuel that can cause a lot of damage to the environment. A report published in 2002 revealed the fact that lead particles caused by the race cars linger around the race area for 10 days and more. in fact, the lead particles will spread to surrounding areas.
The area in which the Nascar Track would be built on is currently part of wetlands. With the Track built, the wetlands area will be reduced and the residents fear that there will be a ‘trickle effect'. They believe that the effect would be quite substantial.
ISC retorted that Staten Island folks will benefit from extra employment opportunities due to the track but many of the Staten Island folks are not convinced. They say that the employment opportunities are mostly minimal wage earners and are for part-timers…hardly the kind of job opportunities the people of Staten Island are looking for.
And most importantly, the people at Staten Island think that the Nascar Track is filled with loopholes and reeks of political intent. It seems that International Speedway Corporation needs the Staten Island Track to be built (having invested a lot of millions into it) but in return Staten does not need or want the Nascar Track to be built within their community.