Atlanta May Offer A Designated Street Racing Location

Officials in Atlanta are mulling over a drastic solution to illegal street racing - making it legal
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As traffic levels in the USA have dropped due to nationwide Covid-19 shelter-in-place orders, speeds have increased. Fines involving big speed limit infractions have risen, with one Dodge Challenger drive in Michigan infamously clocked at 180mph in a 70mph zone. The Cannonball record has fallen twice amidst a spate of attempts making the most of quiet roads, while in Atlanta, the already busy street racing scene has exploded.

The city has an unconventional idea which might drastically curb its illegal street racing issue, however - make it legal. Well, sort of.

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The idea, based around a suggestion from the 18-year-old son of Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, would be to offer a “designated area” for street racing. Most likely, this would involve closing off a section of road for sanctioned competition, much like Detroit’s Roadkill Nights.

It isn’t the only potential solution on the table, however. Atlanta officials have been working with Bloomberg Associates, the consultancy set up by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, to look at various solutions to its street racing problem.

“Along with Bloomberg, who we’ve reached out to help us do some bench marking and assessment of what’s happening in other cities has been to consider a designated space for street racing,” Mayor Bottoms told the City Council on a call, CBS 46 reports.

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If it is Atlanta’s chosen solution, there would inevitably be opposition - not just from the public, but also from officials. Atlanta Council member Dustin Hillis, who’s behind a new anti-street racing law, doesn’t think a legal spot for such antics will be a sufficient antidote since officially-sanctioned activities would remove the illicit thrill.

Either way, it’ll be a while before anything happens, with the Mayor’s office confirming to CBS 46 that its research is still in an early stage.

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Comments

Andrés Cely Herazo

That’s an amazing solution to reduce the amount of street racers.

However, this would not stop some street racers to keep doing it illegally. Some of them just do street racing to feel the rush of doing something that is against the rules.

05/18/2020 - 15:14 |
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pretty sure the majority of street racers just want to race. same thing with most other crimes, people don’t usually kill for thrills or steal for the kick of it.

06/05/2020 - 11:46 |
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NPS.

That’s actually really cool. Imagine after a particular time (say 8pm) cops start clearing the route. Traffic cars entering the perimeter no more, GTRs, stangs, camaros pulling up on both sides of the road (tokyo drift music starts playing) two cars stand head to head at the starting line
 well basically fast and furious level stuff lol.

05/18/2020 - 17:12 |
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Aincraddriver

This is the living proof the love for cars is not fading at all.

05/18/2020 - 17:40 |
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slevo beavo

Never going to happen. Doesn’t Atlanta have a drag strip they could just open up in the evenings

05/18/2020 - 18:27 |
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Jared G.

Pleasssseeeee let this actually become a thing.

05/18/2020 - 19:13 |
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Yusuf Ashari

oh well, so the people of Atlanta who like cars and ‘Hotrodders’ of Atlanta might just come around on the weekends at 8pm to see “real men’s rides” aka Hot Rods/modified cars from which the engines sounds like either a jihadist screaming “Allahu Akbar” before detonating a car bomb in downtown Manhattan (no blasphemy intended) or a Japanese soldier screams “Banzai” while attacking US troops (no blasphemy intended as well), duking it out on the streets of Atlanta so they won’t bother turning up at Atlanta Motor Speedway, watching lame, samey, boring and cringeworthy NASCAR racing because there’s a better, more exciting solution of gasoline-fed entertainment. When this thing is green-lit by the government, next step: “Make It National Sport”.

05/18/2020 - 19:55 |
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Twopoint0

Yaaaasssss!

05/18/2020 - 20:01 |
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H5SKB4RU (Returned to CT)

Bet Angry Karens will still try to ruin the fun to feel better about themselves.

05/24/2020 - 09:51 |
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DE OUTLANDER

There should be a designated space for street racing in every city. Would make everything Alot safer.

06/04/2020 - 08:50 |
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Anonymous

yes please. Make an entire town where street racing is legal, and also where loud cars and otherwise illegal cars are legal to drive. I’d go live there in a heartbeat

06/21/2020 - 18:47 |
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