The Scourge on the Island

 With most of the COVID restrictions lifted, the Belle Isle Grand Prix is on again this year.  I will admit, it was pretty nice when they didn't hold it last year but more on that later.

The Detroit Grand Prix dates back to 1982.  It was a Formula One race.  The circuit was 2.4 miles, had 17 turns and proved to be slower than Monaco.  The race lasted downtown until 1988 because it was deemed inadequate because of the temporary pits and garages that were used.

The 1989 race was going to be moved to Belle Isle.  There was talk of building a permanent pit and garages but that idea was nixed.  The Formula One folks backed out and ended in Detroit.  In 1989, the race was taken over by the CART people.

That group of races ended in 2001.  Too many racers thought it was too slow and too croweded.

A race was started again in 2007.  There was another race in 2008.  The 2009 race was cancelled.

The race was revitalized in 2012 and has been held here since.  

While I will admit that it is kind of cool that a race is held on Belle Isle.  I do not like the fact that they tie up half the island for close to three months.  It takes almost a month for them to set up for the race.  While they are setting up the race, most of the part closest to the Renaissance Center is closed down and people can't park there.  It makes seeing the cherry blossoms difficult (among other things).

I would have less of a problem with the race if they didn't tie up half of the island for so long.  On some nice days, the fact that this part of the island is closed down means that the rest of the island fills up and they have to close the island for a bit until the crowd clears out.

There has to be way that the park and race can exist peacefully.