As Johnny would say, "I did not know that"
There's so much about Portland that I still don't know, after nearly 28 years of living here. Today I see that the city Parks Bureau is going out for bids to repave the track at Portland International Raceway. I must have missed the memo on that one -- does the city own P.I.R.?
| Posted at 3:01 PM | Permalink |
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Comments (8)
On the PIR website:
Portland International Raceway is an independent business enterprise of Portland Parks & Recreation.
Posted by Bark Munster | June 12, 2007 4:08 PM
an independent business enterprise of
Portland Parks & Recreation.
Like condo development on Mount Tabor, I guess.
Grimwad, baby!
Posted by Jack Bog | June 12, 2007 4:09 PM
More detail here:
http://www.portlandraceway.com/history.asp
Posted by Bark Munster | June 12, 2007 4:10 PM
It's a park that brings in quite a good wad of cash to the city, too I might add.
Unfortunately there is a vocal minority of people in North Portland who strongly oppose PIR -- despite the track being there far longer than these complainers have been.
The inexpensive Friday and Saturday night drag racing at PIR keeps the boy racers from racing on the street (not to mention middle aged folk like me who enjoy blowing off the odd Mustang or Honda). A real service to the community.
I'm glad they're resurfacing the track -- it's WAY overdue. Sometimes on a quiet summer evening, I can even hear PIR at my home in Irvington....
Posted by Gerry | June 12, 2007 7:30 PM
Like condo development on Mount Tabor, I guess.
Not really. It's a Parks Bureau function that is run as an "enterprise" which means it doesn't use General Fund dollars and is self-supporting. Golf courses are similarly self-supporting. It's not a bad business model.
Posted by Frank Dufay | June 13, 2007 5:38 AM
I'll second Gerry's comments and you can find out more about PIR and the users of the park here:
Posted by Dave | June 13, 2007 9:37 AM
Okay, lets try the link again:
http://www.friendsofpir.com/fopir/index.php
Posted by Dave | June 13, 2007 9:44 AM
Jack - PIR is actually one of the few Portland Parks & Rec projects that I think is really well run. It's a net income generator on a regular basis and is one of the most frequently used facilities in Portland. There are very few weekdays, weekday evenings or weekends when it is not in use (paid for at that) by one or more groups.
When I'm out there racing with OMRRA (www.OMRRA.com) there is often also motocross racing and car "drifting" going on at the same time.
It's a wise move for the City to re-pave PIR to continue to make it such a draw.
Of course my opinion has nothing at all to do with the fact that better pavement will improve my lap times!
Posted by Brooks Cooper | June 13, 2007 11:44 AM