As a part of the Chattanooga Motorcar Festival, the Grand Prix Road Race at the Bend was held almost two months ago Oct. 14-16 on Riverfront Parkway from ML King Boulevard to near Finley Stadium. Last year the organizers conducted a professional Riverfront Parkway set-up and expeditious take-down….i.e….safety fencing, concrete barriers, etc.
The race organizer’s track record this year is terrible. It is now December and concrete barriers are stacked like dominos on side streets and in driveways, and our previously beautiful Riverfront Parkway median along the race route has been decimated with piled up sod, dirt, etc….very unsightly.
With this weekend’s state high school football championships (Blue Cross Bowl) being held at Finley Stadium, our great city of Chattanooga has visitors from all over the state. One of the primary gateways from downtown to Finley is via Riverfront Parkway, which still looks terrible.
As the CEO of a large business on Riverfront Parkway, this mess projects a negative image of our neighborhood. The race event and its positive financial impact on our city is great, but the organizers need to be held accountable for an expeditious clean up procedure….for this year and subsequent years.
I assume that enforcement would be the responsibility of the city of Chattanooga.
Johnny Phillips