Great Lakes Dragway in WI CLOSING?!

So, my neighbour puts up Christmas lights that might challenge the Griswolds for most lights on a property..They then play Christmas Carols..

Should I be calling the Noise pollution Gods and have him "shut down"???

This noise and light pollution B S needs to be nipped..These old tracks been around since the 50-60's and no one whined back then..
Tell the "Tree Huggin" P I T A's to go move into a condo by the beach and bitch about water pollution instead..

leave these old race tracks alone.
maybe the owners can have this location designated as "Historical Property"..

Good Luck fighting City hall...........

Rick
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ok i say let them close the track ...... and when they are happy the track is closed that would put a certain element back on the street to go back to street racing, and when someone is killed from that foolishnes then maybe they will realize they made a bad choice in closing the track. that point needs to be made loud and clear, thats one of the main reasons why the NHRA was formed

 

I agree 100%...

But few people can think that far ahead, much less past the end of their nose

I find it funny that there is talk of noise complaints, yet there seems to be no discussion of mufflers. Most race cars that race there can perform quite well with mufflers. Mine is barely affected - ~.05 sec on a car that runs 12.30's. Of course not all race cars can run mufflers, but exceptions could be made. The noise would still be reduced - especially for weeknight racing.

My opinion is that it is about the money.

What are the town's real plans for that property if the track would be shut down?

Is there a party interested in purchasing the property?

Have the track's neighbors been approached about selling?

 

Sadly, I don't think this option will signal a red flag to the board members to find a need to build another track after the demise of GLD and repeat what has been going on after they finish swallowing their pride.

I think that it's times like these that the Hot Rod community needs to start formulating a plan for lobbying for change. Lobbying for political action is not cheap and needs to be done collectively. I'm not too familiar with what all the NHRA does besides promoting and putting events together, but perhaps they (or someone of equal size) needs to have a legal sector that strictly deals in the preservation of hot rodding's history.

The only way organizations like this work is when they are funded by "members". Essentially, a lot of larger vendors/customers that feel this is important and a priority, they would then contribute a monetary amount that they feel comfortable with. In the end this money would be used to fight legal battles such as this and put these topics to rest.

I'm no lawyer, but I do work with dry legal topics for a living. Finding loop holes in the law and interpreting the information at hand is the key to success. Being passionate about the preservation of hot rodding and its historical venues would be the organizations primary goal/mission statement.

I would encourage everyone that reads this thread to view the city's website to see if you can view this topic specifically. If the board opens the topic up for comments I would also suggest that everyone send the board something constructively supporting the fact that this track needs to stay right the hell where it is and the consequences that may result if it were to be torn down. Feel free to cite data and statistics (if they exist) on previous tracks that have been closed and the effect(s) these changes had on the community.

Food for thought.

-Mike

 

hEY THESE ONE FOR gsta

 

I know that WIR will be closing in 9 yrs. or less.The owner said last year that he is going to keep it open for 10 Yrs. It is facing the same issues with encroachment and noise .The only nights that the strip makes money is when the jet cars come to town ,otherwise the stands are pretty empty.They also have a rouny-round track which is still very popular but it's day will end...I spent every saturday there from 1999 to 2004 as part of a friends team and part time driver and I will miss those days....PAUL

 

Well, that about sums it up. If the owner isn't making the money to keep it going it's going to close regardless. (Even when the jet cars show up, he probably pays them something.)

Whether we like it or not drag racing on a track is a big luxury. These facilities are not often close enough to the masses to justify the traveling and expenditures it takes to make a weekend out of it for someone that lives a few hundred miles away. Add to that a lousy economy and slowly rising fuel prices and these smaller tracks have a hard time making ends meet.

Sounds like there is more to this than just "noise and light pollution". It seems like they may have been dealing with complaints for years, but when it comes down to it, the owner just can't make it financially happen. Who knows, I'm just speculating. Maybe some of you local guys can shed some more light on this one.

 

Randy and the other owners of GLD have legal representation, I'm sure they've faced these kinds of things many times. With the economy the way it is everywhere and up there, no developer is building new stuff up there.

 

I seriously doubt this is about noise. Those are trumped-up complaints to get the place shut down so someone else can have access to land that is already cleared with electric and water run to it. Perfect for WalMart or some other huge facility. Even in this economy there's a demand for more Targets and WalMarts.

If you want to help the track, come to the Hunnert Car Heads Up on May 8! The more people who show up, the better the racing will be and the more help the track will get to fight this kind of crap.

 

They should make it a historical landmark,its a part of history!they should have idiot people pollution ordinance.they tried that in my town 20 years ago at a fairgrounds stock car track.the people that complained were met with near violent opposition. sometimes it is the answer,havent had a problem in 20 years.

 

It may be cool to bash on Wal-Mart and to try to find them to blame for this issue. Do you really think Wal-Mart would build in this location? Out of town, on a rather narrow road, etc. If you know Da' Grove, then you know it is on low land that tends to stay wet for a while. Perfect land use.

I really doubt this has anything to do with Wal-Mart.

If I was to guess, I would guess there is a "new" neighbor that moved in within the last few years.

 

there will be another town meeting on this after the first of the year so don't put down your pitchforks yet,don't let this turn out like what they did to US41(witch is ever farther out in the corn than gld) lanes close at 9:30 engines shut off at 10pm.

 

Yep,and once they close,they usually don't get a permit to re open..

And you aren't seeing to many NEW drag race facilities being built.
We need to preserve what we have.

Rick
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Paris puts off talk of noise study, ordinance

BY DENEEN SMITH
dsmith@kenoshanews.com
PARIS — Residents of Paris have been butting heads over a plan to create a noise ordinance, but the Paris Town Board is not ready to take up the debate.
The board said Tuesday it plans to indefinitely table a discussion of a noise and light study commissioned by the town, and to hold off on making a decision on the ordinance.
Supervisor Ron Kammerzelt said the board plans to make a decision on the issue over the next few months.
“We are still gathering information, and I don’t want anyone’s emotions on both sides jumping to conclusions that haven’t happened yet,” Kammerzelt said. “We have all winter to decide what we are going to do and how we are going to do it.”
In recent weeks, supporters of the Great Lakes Dragaway have been circulating a petition against a noise ordinance.
At the same time, some residents who have long complained about noise generated by the track appeared told the board Tuesday that petition carriers were intimidating people.
Others said the sound study did not accurately portray the sounds generated by the drag racers.
Kammerzelt said after the meeting he hopes a noise ordinance can establish measurable guidelines for the track and others in the community. He said the board will schedule a meeting to discuss the results of the sound study and alternatives for an ordinance.
He said the town is not looking to shut down Great Lakes.
“The best interest of this community, as far as this board member is concerned, is not to close businesses. I don’t think anyone is silly enough to do that,” he said.

 

I used to live 3 miles from the track and it's never really been an issue (except when the jets were melting cars). And don't forget the revenue produced from the racers coming to town. Hell, GLD put Union Grove on the map.
Some minority is just trying to advance their agenda and the board appears intimidated or it's just another example of an over reaching board playing games with our freedoms in the name of helping the very small minority that bitch. Sound familiar... Keep this up and there will be a real revolution in this country. If GLD shuts down, we all should just go to the streets in front of each board member homes and make a ton of noise.
When I lived there Paris Township, the board was conservative and logical. From what I've read recently, it's unfortunately appears to have become more political now in pushing someone agenda and less interested in giving equal representation of all folks.. Unfortunately, this appears be a nationwide disease...