Neighbors to NASCAR
If you were out-and-about this past weekend, you might have noticed a bit of additional traffic. Or, maybe you had trouble getting a table at your favorite Finger Lakes eatery, or a campsite or hotel room for guests. The sporty amongst us all know what was going on, but, if you are (like me) entirely out of the loop when it comes to sports news, you might appreciate learning what the cause was: we had the first experience of “NASCAR in the Next County.” And it was, according to the wineries, fruitstand operators, and restauranteurs I have discussed it with, a VERY good thing for the local tourist economy.
Now, promoting tourism development is always a thing about which reasonable people can disagree– like the GrassRoots Festival, an annual NASCAR race will bring a huge cash infusion, along with a number of new visitors who may learn to love the area, but, also, crowded conditions, and people who look and act as if they don’t know where they are going. For the record, we drove through Watkins Glen twice over the weekend, and did not confront a traffic jam either time. Unless you count the 18-wheeler blocking both lanes of Rt. 14 in Dundee because he tried to do a U-turn and ran out of gas– but, that is just professional lapse, not tourism congestion. Heck, more NASCAR tourists might even result in a gas station on that side of the lake, and keep the truckers from getting in embarrassing predicaments.
I’m an unabashed booster of Finger Lakes tourism myself, and was entirely overjoyed to learn that we locals who feel that way are getting a little help promoting the idea– from the Governor, no less! Check out this story for details: http://www.stargazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070813/NEWS01/708130326/1001/News
A waterfront hotel in Watkins? Could be a good thing if it was done well, but, it might raise the prices on those $3 movies at the local theater… and/or help us keep some steady tennants in the storefronts on T-burg’s Main St. Well worth considering– congrats to the Schuyler County planning and development crew, and their Chamber, for having a Big One on the line down on the waterfront.
I had not yet seen the Ithaca Journal when I posted the piece above– they also have coverage, at:
http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070813/NEWS01/708130330/1002/NEWS01
As well as a snarky article about the GrassRoots Festival, clearly intended to whip up more controversy and more snarky comments (which are, on cue, showing up in the storychat trashcan). No good deed shall go unpunished, I suppose, but I was entirely appalled to see Leslie Puryear’s meager salary published as news; with all that is going on around here, invading the privacy of one of the most community-spirited grandmothers in the area is the best they can do?
Note to community: this town needs some good journalists real bad.
I was out an about at the races this weekend. I can’t tell you how efficient that track is as far as traffic control and getting people to where they need to go.
At the conclusion of the race we were out and home within the hour.
I was also very happy to see food vendors such as the boy scouts, the american legion, churches, also included. It gave it a local feel, an opportunity for their organizations to raise money and so nice to see that corporations hadn’t taken over all available space. Everything right down to the porta johns came from this area. Great weekend and from what I am told also one of the highest attended (especially for the Busch series on Saturday which usually doesn’t get as big of a crowd).
Thanks for the eyewitness account, Marcia. And, glad to hear that, like GrassRoots, the race used local and regional companies and community groups to satisfy the tourists’ needs.
Anybody who would like to see an article about the Governor’s day at the races at the Glen might want to check out the NY Times– http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/14/nyregion/14spitzer.html?_r=3&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Our local almost-daily paper, the Ithaca Journal, appears to have been too cash-strapped to send a reporter, although they do have a piece in the sports news that they seem to have written from a phone interview with the track staff. That one is http://www.theithacajournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070814/SPORTS/70814003
And, an opinion piece by Gannett syndicated columnist Jay Gallagher summing up a speech the Governor made quite a few days ago out in Western NY… and, getting it mostly wrong in summation. Maybe it was too many big words, or something. Anyway, the speech itself (rather than Jay Gallagher’s syndicated botch-job opinion) is very good, and well worth reading, as I mentioned in my post here last week. Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eliot-spitzer/the-need-for-both-passion_b_59546.html
Now, about the decline of journalism in the area again: my discussion about yesterday’s sensationalistic piece in the Ithaca Journal on GrassRoots Festival with the assistant editor confirmed that they would, indeed, publish the name and salary of any non-profit or public employee, if they thought it was of local interest– so, cops, librarians, school teachers, day care administrators, watch out. I think that is a real invasion of privacy in a small city/towns where people all kinda know each other. And, a new journalistic low for the Journal. If you agree, give ‘em a call and say so. But, don’t write letters. Getting us to write their paper for free is the reason that they run this kind of disturbing trash on the front page, instead of, you know, covering a national-level race in the area or the Governor announcing a regional tourism promotion agenda, or something that would involve paying one of their twenty-two-year-old “reporters” mileage to drive somewhere. Hey– maybe the problem is that they don’t pay their reporters enough for them to own cars?
I grew up in a decidedly touristy area — the 1000 Islands, which has for decades relied on the tourist buck for its livelihood, starting way back in the days before they had air conditioning, and wealthy New York City industry captains and movie stars had summer homes where the constant breeze gave some relief from city heat — heck, Irving Berlin is said to have penned “Blue Skies” while visiting the area. But any area making a living from tourists is bound to have a love-hate relationship with them, and probably more of the latter. They don’t treat your property the way you would, they litter, they demand things (after all, they ARE paying the bill), they lollygag while driving. They make lines happen where there were no lines before. The wonderful places that no one used to know about, suddenly, they all know about them. And tourism can make bad restaurants and cheesy tourist attractions sprout like mushrooms after a spring rain.
But they bring in money. They provide income. They give every teen within 10 miles a summer job. So the 1000 Islanders grudgingly put up with them.
Tourism IS indeed big business. I see it when I travel. Just over 30 years ago I went to Paris, and I went up to the Eiffel Tower just minutes after I got there. This past spring, my son and I stood in line for 90 minutes before we could board the elevator to the top. Notre Dame Cathedral posts a sign outside its entrance asking visitors to respect the space by visiting quietly, but the tourist din made a quick lie out of that sign.
One positive thing, though, about tourism, is that it can’t be exported to China!
Well said, Mary. I hope the town and village comprehensive plan reviewers have been thinking about the things you bring up.
I emailed the Star-Gazette link to someone who was interning with the Schuyler County planning and development crew back a while, before taking a job in the Albany area. He replied that they have already broken ground and are building the hotel… he’d seen the drawings and thought it would be an attractive addition to the waterfront. I’m planning to go check it out– anybody seen an elevation in any media anywhere? Curious minds want to know!