Legal street racing? Atlanta is considering it

How many films have we seen where an illegal street race is the trigger or the way a duel or dispute gets resolved… The worst part is that these films reflect a not-so-hidden reality: even in big cities, in their outskirts, this kind of act outside the law that endangers road safety has taken place. Regardless of whether such acts exist and are penalised, public administrations are considering how to combat this type of crime, and one of the alternatives proposed is to hold them in a controlled way by setting up enclosed areas where legal street races can take place.

As surprising as it may seem, the solution to the problem could be to allocate disused urban areas for them to take place, under pre-established safety margins.

And so, from Atlanta, the CBS 46 channel has reported that the city’s mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, has taken into consideration the proposal of her 18-year-old son to build a legal street racing circuit.

As peculiar as it may sound, the proliferation of these races and the risk they pose to Atlanta’s residents has led to the proposal made by the mayor’s son being taken into consideration, and it is now being evaluated by Bloomberg Associates, a company that works on improving quality of life and the safety of cities such as Paris.

The idea is not to replicate the layouts of temporary urban race circuits such as the extremely dangerous Macau in China or the spectacular Long Beach, California, in the United States, but to provide the city with spaces where these meetings can be held more safely.

Naturally, the proposal has not gone unnoticed, and this scenario already has supporters of the measure, who have shown it through an online petition backing the local mayor’s proposal.

Opponents of Atlanta’s legal street circuit

However, not a few voices have also been raised against the idea.

On one hand, there are already voices against this measure, arguing that Atlanta already has two permanent circuits: the famous Atlanta Motor Speedway, where top-level competitions such as NASCAR are held, and the Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, where the IMSA championship does the same, as well as other activities such as exhibitions, driving courses or track days, the well-known private sessions.

On the other hand, even among those who support holding these automotive duels on open roads but without police authorisation, the idea is rejected, because precisely one of the risks these races entail is the adrenaline produced by their illegal nature.

Likewise, many citizens wonder where the funds for setting up the proposed legal street racing circuit will come from, as well as its maintenance and management, considering what kind of permanent security it would require.

For now, the only concrete fact in this surprising proposal is that Atlanta City Council has taken the first steps by requesting a feasibility study to establish the first legal street racing circuit in its surroundings, and we will see whether it goes ahead or not.