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Toronto Loses Grand Prix

Wouldn't it be cool to use the Gardiner/DVP for the race?

There are a couple of really amazing circuits that could be put to good use downtown! DVP/Bayview, Rosedale Valley Road/Bayview/DVP/Gardiner/Yonge, Lake Shore/Gardiner, Bathurst/Wellington/Strachan/Fort York/Bremner/Spadina/Wellington, I'm sure there are a ton of others!
 
Or we could marry it with Pride and give new meaning to Drag Racing.

I fully support Streetcars in Drag!
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There are a couple of really amazing circuits that could be put to good use downtown! DVP/Bayview, Rosedale Valley Road/Bayview/DVP/Gardiner/Yonge, Lake Shore/Gardiner, Bathurst/Wellington/Strachan/Fort York/Bremner/Spadina/Wellington, I'm sure there are a ton of others!

They'd need to fence in all of those roads so cars don't go flying into the Don, or into buildings.
 
Oh yes. Sound carries - the lower registers further than the higher. On quiet days, and at night, I can hear AndreaPalladio ringing the bell at Old City Hall - Dung! Dung! Dung!
 
Oh yes. Sound carries - the lower registers further than the higher. On quiet days, and at night, I can hear AndreaPalladio ringing the bell at Old City Hall - Dung! Dung! Dung!

The sound must be bouncing out to the lake, reflecting off the islands and Rochester and funneling right back to your backyard. Terrible luck. Here in Corktown I must be sheltered by the Gardiner, and all the condos and office towers downtown.
 
The sunny uplands of Riverdale are higher than Corktown, so we hear everything that happens downtown. Some days it's like being in the whispering gallery of St.Paul's Cathedral, the things we hear. There are few secrets, whispered in hushed tones on Bay Street, at City Hall, or in the Legislature, that my vast Riverdale-based information-gathering network doesn't pick up on.
 
Does anyone know how much CART events pollute? I know they're still running Methanol, whereas IRL has switched to less toxic ethanol. I presume CART teams can afford the expeeze catalytic converters necessary to scrub the Methanol emissions?
 
I think it's a great idea to redevelop the CNE grounds and scrap the course. I use to watch the old indycars but ever since the split into two different racing series, the quality and technology worsened.

Also, Champcar's US TV viewership nosedived since the split attracting only 1.0 share today (whereas NASCAR attracts at least 10 times more viewership). Yes, the cancellation does impact Toronto's tourism industry, but this could be a good opportunity to beautify the area and turn it to a year round cultural attraction
 
A disappointing loss if you ask me, although it seems there is little sympathy here. It brought massive numbers of people to the waterfront/city from all over North America and even the world.

My fear is that with it gone for this year it is going to be much more difficult to get the event back, not due to IRL's management. But due to the current climate in the city there might be a bit of a NIMBY push back when trying to bring the event back in 2009. I have my doubts it will be back in '09 and if it isn't I fear it will be 15 - 20 years before another motor sports event is brought back to the city, if ever.

P.S. The Air Show is just as loud (or louder) and likely more polluting than the Grand Prix. Shall we cancel that as well?
 
A couple of people have mentioned the opportunity this provides to redevelop the CNE grounds but I'm not aware of any development plans that were being held back because of this event. I know the city is looking long term at what to do with the area, but I highly doubt the fate of this race will have an impact one way or the other on development plans for the grounds.

I grew up a stone's throw from the jog at Dufferin and Queen Sts. I grew up with the air show and was still in the area when the car engines began revving up in the late 1980s. On airshow weekend, it sounds like the city is being invaded from the skies. During racing week, there is this constant, loud buzzing sound for a few days -- like living next to a giant mutant beehive. And traffic becomes a mess. Both events are loud and disruptive and dirty -- and worth every aggravating moment, imho.
 

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