On the heels of the Bay Beach condo tower fiasco, the Ontario Municipal Board appeal process concerning the largest proposed development in Fort Erie in recent history, the Canadian Motor Speedway project, begins with a pre-hearing on Friday, April 8th, 2011 at 11:00am in Fort Erie Town Council Chambers.
Trees being cut on a portion of the more than 800-acre site in Fort, Erie, Ontario planned for NASCAR racing stadium.
Although environmentally destructive for Niagara, this application for a NASCAR speedway was hastily pushed through the approval process in late 2009; primarily due to the demands of the proponent, who expressed their exasperation and impatience with the lengthy approval process in Canada. Apparently, the investors’ concerns were unaccustomed to being constrained by procedures meant to protect area citizenry.
Not to worry though. Politicians at both the local municipal and regional levels of government agreeably towed the line and adhered to the proponent’s deadline of December, 2009 with their vote to amend the Official Policy and make way for this leviathan. Approvals were so swift, in fact, that many of the required studies were not provided and remain outstanding to this day.
For instance, the peer-reviewed Noise Study still has not been provided for public consumption. Without a doubt, noise is one of the largest issues. Even those in favour of the speedway project acknowledge that the noise problem is insurmountable, but something “we’ll just have to learn to live with”, according to a statement delivered by one local politician with a shrug of his shoulders. He may be able to look past the fact that the speedway will absorb 821 acres of valuable agricultural land. including sensitive wetlands, create traffic nightmares when 100,000 spectators simultaneously empty the stands, and add tons of toxic carbon emissions to our already over-burdened atmosphere on those hot humid days we are known for in Southern Ontario. But certainly he and most of us realize the deafening noise will forever alter our quality of life and the quiet enjoyment of this region.
Questions received by the Citizens Coalition of Greater Fort Erie (CCGFE) from homeowners are basic ones; i.e. How far do they (CMS) claim the noise will carry? How loud will it be in the large residential community of Crescent Park just a couple of kilometres from the proposed site; or on the Niagara Parkway downwind of the track? The research that CCGFE has been able to compile from other ‘speedway towns’ in the United States has revealed that first of all, most speedways are not built in a location adjacent to residential homes as is proposed in Fort Erie. Secondly, severe noise impacts are felt up to a five- mile radius of a speedway and are constantly influenced by weather and wind patterns. Incidentally, noise barriers may successfully mitigate noise close to the barrier, but these same barriers can also serve to deflect the noise so that it is actually heard further away.
The proposed speedway location.
Yet as CCGFE prepares to appeal the Official Plan and zoning bylaw amendments before OMB, we have grave concerns since many important details have not yet been addressed by the proponent. Rather, in drafting the zoning bylaws, these omissions have been deferred by the use of “holding” provisions to be addressed at the site plan stage; effectively stifling any comment CCGFE may have at OMB with regard to the studies. In addition to the peer-reviewed Noise Study, a Detailed Service Review, Class Environmental Assessment, and Air Quality Study are also outstanding. Likewise, it is still unclear as to the source of funding for an estimated $53 million dollars in infrastructure upgrades, as well as the cost of ongoing maintenance of the expanded services resulting from what is basically an urban boundary expansion into an agricultural area.
According to statistics on the Region`s website, Fort Erie’s population has grown at a faster rate than Niagara Falls (6.3% vs. 4.1% for the same period) in recent years. Surprisingly, this growth happened without the advent of an environmentally unfriendly development that burdened taxpayers with the cost of infrastructure, caused property values to plummet, and spewed pollutants. Perhaps it happened because people were attracted to the quiet ambiance, the small town feel, the lack of traffic, the open spaces, and the beaches and recreation that Fort Erie affords. What a concept.
CCGFE urges all those opposed to the speedway development to attend the OMB pre-hearing on April 8th; which is open to the public. For more information, please visit the CCGFE website at www.ccgfe.org. Protect your quality of life in Niagara!!
Sandy Vant is a Fort Erie resident living near the site for this proposed speedway and is president of the Citizens Coalition of Greater Fort Erie.
(Share your comments on this issue below and visit Niagara At Large a www.niagaraatlarge.com daily for more news and commentary on matters of interest and concern to residents in our greater Niagara region and beyond.)
Niagara At Large 
I agree fully with this article…………when we decide where to live, no one would choose such a place where this kind of noise will interrupt a decent enjoyment of life…….more than that,,,,,,,I have seen the wildlife first hand, (deer, wild turkey, many small animal life, many birds, some that could not settle around noise and dust etc in their habitat. Once this is all distrubed, it is gone forever……..Where are the Feds, Provincial Gov’ts protecting the people that live in that area……….do we have to wait until all the green is gone to be replaced by blacktop areas, ……don’t we have enough of that in Fort Erie now? why not make Fort Erie one of those communities that respects nature, and find ways to enhance such a wonderful asset that few communities have today……….think about it…………
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We’re back to that argument, why do we have to have change when it is so pretty out there. Well, out there, is a much a manufactured enviroment as any you can point to. Agriculture is totally opposite to the “Natural Enviroment”. Human habitation is horrible for the enviroment but I like to live in my house. I enjoy the services that I buy even when they have an enviromental cost.
It’s all a matter of balance. The steel that your car came from was made in a horrible stinking polluting factory. You drive a car don’t you. The river is near my house in Fort Erie. All summer the huge cigarette boats roar up and down the Niagara River. The Border patrols go up and down, on the river, and in the air. The trains run across the river alot. Alot. The planes from the airbase routinely fly just over my house. These are all noises that no-one going to protest about. At least no one has offered. The noise issue is no big deal.
Fort Erie is a town to be from. The kids with talent all move away to better economies where they can get ahead. A few come back when they retire. The lack of opportunity is appalling and not going to get better if every new developement is bad. That seems to be the attitude here. We can’t even go through with a signed agreement. Yes, the road track will mean more people. Yes, it will mean more noise and pollution and the rest. Yes, it might mean the future, kids have a place to work or careers that were not available before. Nobody wants to live next to the steel foundry but, I’ll bet there are alot of people who would love to live next to the racetrack and listen to what some think is the sweet sound of an engine going around the track. Wouldn’t it be nice to have the whole world drop by and leave their money in return for our services.
To you out there moaning about the changes the track will bring. I am sure you live in a longhouse and hunt and forage for your food like the original keepers of this land. No your ancestors changed things and you are only to happy to have plumbing.
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The idea floating around that this racetrack will somehow save Fort Erie is utterly ridiculous. Sounds similiar to the arguments for the Slots. How has that been working lately? My other concern, which no one seems to address, is actually how many events will be held annually at this track? And how many full-time jobs will be generated? My main concern, above all, is how destructive it will be to the environment. A big NO from this citizen.
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The Province did a study 35 years ago, the study decided that Niagara area would be Tourism and recreational and not manufacturing,the Chamber of Commerce of Canada and USA lobbyed for ten years for Free Trade with Mexico so all our good jobs and tax paying factories dissappeared south, so we are left with no cards to play, the Race way is not the best idea, but we are not going to get anything better, the final site plan beats the Stevensville Golf course earlier choice.that land is hard scrabble not the prime land some people think it is ,under neath it is bedrock limestone, close to the border and the QEW , between two inter-changes, the creek has been subject to massive pollution from the sludge pond and runoff from the Town dump, nobody gave a damn before,when the Town in 1984 moved the creek without permission from the NPCA so Heinz Hummel could build an industrial plaza, the people did not care before so they can’t bitch now, can they? you have your self to blame, thats my opinion.
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The noise issue is absurdly overstated. The satelite photos I’ve seen of the area probably aren’t exactly up to date but unless there has been subdivisions developed entirely around the proposed track site the noise issue will only affect a handful, yes literally a HANDFUL of properties in the immediate vicinity. Yes if you’re sitting in the stands of an auto race it is loud and you should wear ear protection. If you’re in the parking lot while cars are on track it’s only a slight background noise and if you’re a few acres away from the speedway it is a non-issue. If the track is lucky you might get 3-4 major speedway event weekends with 15-20 total hours of on track time over the course of a single weekend. Any track use on off-peak weekends would include less vehicles off and on the track and even less noise. If you live in the city near the lake or river you won’t have any noise from the speedway. The Crescent Park area will have little to no impact from noise. I’ll concede that if the wind is blowing the right way there is a chance that you may hear SOMETHING but it won’t be loud, you’ll still be able to go into your backyards and it will have no impact on your quality of life or property values.
In terms of an environmental impact and developing that area that’s more of an urban sprawl issue than a speedway issue. Given the desired location of the speedway if it were not planning on being built there then it would be another developer with another plan to convert that area to a residential and commercial community. By the looks of it at one time the Crescent Park area would have been farmland or forestry that has been developed into an urban area. Many of the infrastructure upgrades would have to occur once that land gets developed regardless and if anything the speedway will need less in terms of sewer and water than if the land was developed into an urban community. With such a large area of land set to be developed maybe they could incorporate some solar panels in certain spots or on roofs and generate their own electricity. It wouldn’t take too many solar panels to balance out the speedways yearly energy use and they could even create extra power to our power grid.
In terms of an economic impact for each major event weekend there will be full hotels, motels, campgrounds, restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores and gas stations. The more hotels there are in Fort Erie the greater the economic impact the city will receive. With nearby communities like Niagara Falls and St. Catharines or even Buffalo people coming to the track will have options of where to stay and Fort Erie will only be as busy as the number of rooms it has to house people. If people wanted they could even rent out their homes for the weekend and avoid any potential issues they think there might be while profiting from the event. The development of the speedway property and possible infrastructure upgrades in the area will create hundreds of jobs for 12-18 months of construction. In fairness the fulltime speedway employees probably won’t be too high, possibly only numbering 50 or less but on event weekends many jobs are needed from staffing vending areas to even garbage collection and cleaning the port-o-poties. Some speedways use volunteers to assist with parking or selling food and then compensate them in the form of a donation to their group. This allows youth sports, school teams or groups, scouting, guiding, church groups or any other association to earn money for their planned future endeavors as a way to partner with the surrounding community.
When planning a development such as this there are always pros and cons and people for or against the project. There’s nothing wrong with voicing concerns and trying to make the developers construct the facility in a way that is beneficial to the environment and the local community. In the end the pros for this project outweigh the cons and as long as the developer keeps some of the local concerns in mind while constructing the speedway it should be built and maybe as early as next fall Fort Erie and surrounding communities will be able to benefit from the creation of a top notch international racing facility.
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Stephen Harper the Prime Minister has denied landing rights to the two Dubai national airlines,so in return Dubai kicked the Canadian Military out of Dubai and also put a huge visa fee on any canadians visiting the Emiirate, I don’t think the project will advance much further with such a toxic atmosphere, Canada shot itself in the foot with such unilateral action and Fort Erie is now collateral damage, in that ill thought out action by Stephen Harper.
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When I look across the river and see that concrete jungle called Buffalo, I feel very fortunate and proud to live in Fort Erie. Going through with this project would be a huge mistake. Also a big NO.
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