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Letter in Fort Erie Times
November 21, 2009

RESIDENT CONCERNED ABOUT SPEEDWAY

Dear Editor,

In response to Kris Dube’s column about the Canadian Motor Speedway project being exactly what this town needs, my question is “At what price?” This present Town council is willing to sell anything it can to increase its tax grab. Bay Beach is a prime example of this. I ask at what price to present and future generations.

Now, for this next big “snow job” that council is going to shower on the residents of Fort Erie, the Canadian Motor Speedway.

I attended this proposal meeting at the town hall on Sept. 8 since I am affected in a major way. The council chambers were overflowing at 6 p.m. as what anyone would expect and residents were sitting on the floor in the aisle. Overflow residents could not hear one word of what went on with the proponent’s presentation. There was no effort by our mayor and his council to rectify what I consider to be a major problem. After the presentation was complete there were 10 pro-track enthusiasts speaking their support. Of all the people in support of the project, I believe only one of them was from Fort Erie. The other nine were vending outlets from out of town.

Our mayor and councillor Annunziata asked most of the questions of all the pro advocates. When the opposed residents spoke of their concerns, the mayor and his councillors never asked one question. They sat like bumps on a log. Before this meeting, I had sent a letter of my concerns to the town planner with copies to the mayor and my councillor. My problems with this project are major. I’ve lived at this location, a quaint farm on Gilmore Road for 35 years and if this track is allowed to proceed it will devastate me and my wife and our way of life. After I completed my presentation, I enquired of the mayor and the councilors if there were any questions about my concerns that I could address. They looked stunned when I asked that question and my fourth term councillor sat motionless. They are not interested one bit about how this affects their constituents’ lives. They want the tax grab at any expense.

Now for the general public. The noise alone will at times exceed what our health department deems safe for our health. Residents in Fort Erie, Crescent Park, Thunder Bay, Ridgeway, Crystal Beach, Point Abino, Stevensville and Black Creek will all be impacted by the enormous level of noise that will be generated by the 800 to 900 horsepower race cars, accelerating and decelerating around a race track. Any and all residents that enjoy outdoor activities will be affected.

Because of space I have not touched on pollution, roadway congestion and developer fees. Who is going to pay for an extensive roadway system that will have to be built?

This past August, the Ontario Municipal Board closed the Dunnville Autodrome because of excessive noise. What was stated in this report was that the noise impacted everyone’s lives in the area. That track is miniature compared to the one planned for Fort Erie.

It is my hope that the mayor and council will realize what they are about to vote on and take a 360 degree turn in their attitude and vote it down.

Richard J., Fort Erie

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Letter in St. Catharines Standard
November 17, 2009

SPEEDWAY WILL THREATEN LOCAL WILDLIFE

Re: Extinction Countdown – St. Catharines Standard, Nov. 7, 2009

The Standard is to be commended for this excellent article highlighting the annual report of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature on endangered species globally, and the situation currently facing Canada.

While attention to global and national trends regarding threatened species is important, more news coverage is needed regarding our numerous threatened species in Niagara. A new disturbing threat to threatened species has emerged from the proposed Canadian Motor Sports Speedway in Niagara. If approved, the 800-acre proposal would urbanize the entire headwaters of Miller Creek, which supports a variety of threatened species, including the Grass Pickerel.

In a letter to Fort Erie council, respected Fort Erie environmental group, the Bert Miller Nature Club, lists a number of species protected under the Ontario Endangered Species Act, which it believes will be negatively impacted by the speedway. These are the milk snake, the wood turtle, snapping turtle, green dragon, eastern flowering dogwood and the swamp rose mallow.

Niagara boasts some of the greatest biodiversity in Canada. It is impossible to go outside of urban boundaries and construct a massive motorway complex and not have a negative impact on species diversity.

John B., St. Catharines

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Dear Editor,

I am driven to respond to points raised by Ed and Mary Geyer concerning the proposed motor speedway in Fort Erie (Speedway Project will bring life to Fort Erie, Nov. 2nd). It is ironic the letter begins with comments about their many years living ‘on our quiet farm on Sunset Drive’.  

Assuming the Geyer’s have enjoyed their quiet lifestyle, I suggest they investigate a sell-out deal with the speedway applicants, as have many of their Sunset Drive neighbours.  Otherwise, on the off chance the track becomes a reality, the quiet enjoyment of their property will quickly become a distant memory. As will not having to deal with traffic tie-ups lasting 3-4 hours in a stretch, exhaust fumes, 24/7 tailgate parties in the 350 acres of campground, security issues and the mounds of garbage the ‘influx of tourists’ have left behind. And when the Geyer’s are unable to enjoy their backyard during a summer evening or get a decent night’s sleep, will they be calling Town Hall to complain about the excruciating noise and the fact that race cars/motorcycles/snowmobiles/dragsters are roaring around the track at all hours?  That could prove interesting.  I implore them to pose that prospect to our municipal government, who are nothing short of clueless when it comes to noise levels and compliance.   

So for goodness sake, sell out now if you can; particularly since all our property values will plummet if this project is allowed to go forward.  No one moves TO a speedway town.

In the meantime, we will have allowed one of our last remaining stretches of quality farmland as well as a Provincial Significant Wetland to be paved over in the name of NASCAR and the low-end jobs (seasonal/part time/minimum wage) the proponents have promised. The Geyer’s are correct that there is ‘an imminent opportunity of life or death’; and hundreds of area residents who value our community and are charged with protecting it for future generations, choose ‘life’ without this proposed economic and environmental disaster in our midst.      

Dianne G., Fort Erie

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