5 January 2011

Summernats traffic arrangements

| johnboy
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With Summernats starting tomorrow the Department of Territory and Municipal Services is giving notice of the traffic changes they’re planning for the event:

• Delays are to be expected on Flemington Road. Motorists are advised to use the Gungahlin Drive route to and from Gungahlin. Alternative routes will be signposted.

• The possible closure of the southbound carriageway of Flemington Road between Lysaght Street and Randwick Road if significant traffic congestion is experienced. The northbound carriageway will remain open to traffic. Buses and taxis will still be able to use Flemington Road in both directions between Northbourne Avenue and Randwick Road.

• Stirling Avenue will be closed between Northbourne Avenue and Aspinall Street in Watson.

• Phillip Avenue and Swinden Street will remain open to traffic at all times.

• Delays are also to be expected on Northbourne Avenue near EPIC, although access along Northbourne Avenue will still be permitted. Motorists will be encouraged to use the signposted alternative routes of Antill Street and Wakefield Avenue.

• Additional parking will be available to the north of EPIC, accessed via Sandford Street or Wells Station Road.

• An ‘Alcohol Fee Zone’ will be created along Aspinall Street, Stirling Avenue, Northbourne Avenue, Lonsdale Street and the Federal Highway, as well as short sections of Wells Station Road, Phillip Avenue and the parking area north of Exhibition Park. These zones will be signposted.

• ‘No Parking’ and ‘No Camping’ signs will be erected on both sides of Northbourne Avenue

The ‘Nats this year are running from 6 January to 9 January.

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Here’s a bit of summernats reminiscence. Back in the late 1980s, I remember getting back from Sydney late, only to find myself stuck in a traffic jam on Antill St trying to cross Northbourne Ave to get home to O’Connor. The summernats were doing their finale cruise … that’s why everything was jammed up. It was a boiling hot night. The spectators along Northbourne would ‘fire’ off their supersoaker at passing cars. Those were the daze. But now, since the ‘nats have been corralled into EPIC I don’t see any problem, with traffic, noise or whatever. Let them be.

p1 said: “On the other hand, if the city is sick of being invaded by wankers, then the fact that the wankers like their party is hardly a reason to let it continue.”

Well said. If the people who live here don’t want the event, why is it still held here?

I have no opinion on the event, but i’d just like to say that i’ve seen some pretty awesome cars out and about the last few days. (Not doing anything illegal, just driving, but cool none the less)

Yes amarooresident3, I know it lost money. But that was because the bloody thing was held in icy conditions. Hold the same event in Spring or Summer and it would be a different story.

ConanOfCooma7:45 am 06 Jan 11

It’s not that I don’t like Summernats, I don’t like the arse clowns that continually shame the event.

I did hear it was a bit more kid friendly last year, but I think I will just stay at home and play some banned computer games with my kids.

Nothing fills me with RAGE more than when someone likes something that I don’t like.
HOW DARE ANYONE like summernats. I don’t like it. So anyone who does like it is wanker.

Well, actually, Hobart does experience the odd bit of race related drunken tomfoolery. But your point is valid.

On the other hand, if the city is sick of being invaded by wankers, then the fact that the wankers like their party is hardly a reason to let it continue.

Grumpy Old Fart10:37 pm 05 Jan 11

As much as I hate and loathe the fuel guzzling smoke belching twits that give Summernats a bad name. The event is as much for the vehicle purists who have invested tens of thousands of dollars+ in their cars this is their Sydney-Hobart race. We can’t all like the same thing or the world would be boring. You don’t see the residents of Hobart bitching about the all night parties in the harbour and surrounding pubs.

Summernats is probably one of the few activities in January that increases occupancy rates in Canberra and also fills the coffers for the ACT, NSW and Victorian Government with speeding and other fines.

Let em have their fun. If you don’t like it move or go to the coast.

As long as Northbourne Ave isn’t clogged up with traffic, I will be coming back to Canberra from Sydney the 7th

I ask, because a few years ago I ran the fuel store at summergnats, and at that time the restrictions placed on fuel onsite were extensive.

Between the firies and environmental people, the organisers had to ensure that all fuel onsite was in the one place, and that that place had quite comprehensive precautions taken with regards to fire risk and spill prevention. For example, only one vehicle at a time could be in the bay actually refueling. That year, it was only really people running methanol or avgas who brought their own fuel, everyone else filled up at the servo.

If the majority of entrants will be filling onsite from drums, either these restrictions must have eased a *lot* or following them will impose a lot of work and cost on the organizers.

@19 I agree with you, most car shows in town cater for all different kinds of demographic. Auto Italia, German Autofest, Shannons Wheels for everything, All Ford Day etc, … Summernats caters for the cars designed for brute horsepower and lunacy and gives them a rather controlled environment to drive them in.

If you like motorsport you have WSID, Wakefield, SDMA, Rallies etc … I personally enjoy seeing the engineering gone into a 1000hp methanol fed car rather than v8 supercars or looking at flowers at floriade

#42 I presume same way as you do at a rally… jerry cans.

Question:

Since the petrol station collocated with Epic is currently not in existence, does anyone know how the VB drinking, falcondore driving pooftas summernats participants will fill up without driving their very-not-roadworthy vehicles on a public road?

The deep and visceral loathing of Summernats in some sections of the community brings to mind Pleasantville, USA, or perhaps Dame Edna “it’s so unnecessary!’ These are the same people as those who bitterly opposed popular music festivals when they began in the late 60s/early 70s. Probably still do.

I mean, we are talking about immoral behaviour, noise, strange people from who knows where, litter, traffic problems – hell, this is not a gated community, but only because we can’t get away with it! People who are not exactly like us are not welcome here, it seems.

FWIW, I have a couple of friends who come from Sydney to Summernats every year. They stay in a hotel, and eat at local cafes and restaurants. They are car nuts, and they are tourists, and without people like them the local hotels and eateries would be much worse off. But even if they weren’t, the smug and exclusive views of the Summernats haters are no different from the “is it a boy or a girl? haw, haw’ views of the locals who hated music festivals years ago.

Plenty of bus services heading past EPIC according to this: http://bit.ly/summernats2011

Can’t see many of the Summernats Crowd catching one, though.

I agree with Holden Caufield. Floriade is a royal pain in the neck .. maybe the punters don’t spew on the pavement as much, but trying to avoid hitting them on Commonwealth Avenue because they think they can moesy out into the traffic whenever they like .. argh!

Summernats is the pits. I’m locking myself indoors until Monday.

Felix the Cat7:18 pm 05 Jan 11

@ EvanJames # 21 “Could you please compile a list of valid (“genuine”) things that we can complain about?”

Lycra clad cyclists?

Love that their “additional parking” is all in Mitchell… where there’s already a major shortage of car parking for people with whom I work, since our employer and the department we support feel that parking is just a luxury we can do without.

In spite of the increase of bogans driving next to my office in the next few days, I’m taking my motorbike.

Driving boganised imported cars down from the inner west of Sydney is the real Australia outside the ACT?

Who knew?

Actually you can pick the real Australians, they have the Southern Cross tattooed someone visible and stupid

I agree with those who are throwing doubts on the so called financial rewards of Summernats.

From what I can gather, the “participants” are only here for three or four days and the biggest chunk of their money will be spent within the confines of Summernats and therefore at stalls from everywhere else other than Canberra. When the tents are taken down, all that money goes back to Sydney and Melbourne.

They are not here to shop, visit local attractions or dine in nice restaurants. So for those who say they “hardly notice” Summernats, I would say that is my point exactly. Any businesses further south than Civic (with the exception of Fyshwick of course) don’t see a cent.

Of course, let’s not forget the only businesses outside EPIC who rake it in are the brothels and sex shops. The bikie gangs and other organised crime groups who own these establishments must be peeing their pants in delight that the ACT Government actually pays huge amounts for this event to be staged, controlled, and cleaned up at completion while they make a fortune.

The whole thing is a moronic farce and makes me wonder who is in John Stanhope’s pocket so far that he continues to support it. If it makes so much money for the community, let’s see the proof.

troll-sniffer5:48 pm 05 Jan 11

One thing that struck me about the V8 car race when I tried to watch it on telly… despite being told it would showcase Canberra to the world, there was almost nothing about Canberra in any of the coverage, 99% or more of which was of narrow concrete lined lanes with not even a shot of surrounding buildings.

We’re far better off without it.

amarooresident35:40 pm 05 Jan 11

Hingis, if you read the audit it lost money from the very first time it was run and was costing the government a bomb. The whole thing was a typical Carnell special.

In comparison Summernats costs almost nothing for a $3 million net benefit to the economy according to the 2005 Treasury report.

comment by georgesgenitals


C’mon guys, it’ll all be over before you know it… Might be fun to have a walk through Braddon this Friday night!

It usually makes for an interesting walk home. Slightly amusing to most times.

@John Moulis

“…the real Australia beyond the ACT”.

If you’re not a blue singlet-wearing, cigarette-smoking, ute-driving, mass-produced lager-swilling, sociopathic, sexist homophobic petrolhead you’re not a Real Australian(tm) – and everyone “beyond the ACT” is a Real Australian(tm).

Oh – I forgot “Alan Jones-listening”.

Goodness – it’s almost time for a chardonnay.

A lot of you guys just really love this time of year don’t you. You get to be phenomenally rude, while ostensibly just bogan-quoting.

Growling Ferret4:06 pm 05 Jan 11

I don’t want to get bashed up….but I want to do something.

Ahhh Sepi – just show em ya tits…

This year I am considering carrying some eggs in my handbag, to throw on anyone who shouts something crude at me while I’m crossing the road. I’m not sure yet – I don’t want to get bashed up….but I want to do something.

“@20 you forget to mention it was losing money hand over fist.

http://www.audit.act.gov.au/auditreports/reports2002/Report_5_02.pdf

Yes, it lost money, but it wasn’t the cause of its failure, it was the result.

Summernats sucks balls

Holden Caulfield3:18 pm 05 Jan 11

@EvanJames: I just like to go by the innocent until proven guilty theory. Due to poor behaviour in the past measures have been introduced to keep the Nats to an acceptable level of beahviour. And it cannot be denied that the changes have helped reduce the level of unacceptable incidents.

Insofar as guys wanting to go to the Nats to get pissed and chase girls, well, as I have explained, that’s hardly a phenomenon restricted to the Nats is it? The point being the Nats is a very easy target, when in real terms, it’s probably not as bad as its reputation suggests.

And, thirdly, if you read my earlier post, I said the Nats is not my cup of tea. I do have a soft spot for cars, yes, so perhaps I am more sympathetic to its cause, but I’ve only been to the Nats once and that’s almost 20 years ago.

I’m just a bit more realistic and figure if I have to put up with a flower show that holds no appeal to me, then I can do the same for a car/bogan festival. Especially as the inconveniences experienced by myself for both events are largely non-existent. If anything the temporary traffic lights on Comm Ave Bridge cause me more inconvenience than the Nats, but if that’s all I have to cry about then life can’t be too bad.

Is it possible to just dump the 4000+ comments from the last 5 years regarding summernats and we can just continue the eternal argument, rather than having to start it all over again??

Might be a time saver and stop some mouth frothing. Just a suggestion.

Holden Caulfield said:

I’d like to see a proper whinge:incident analysis.

——————————–

Gold. Could I put up my hand to be on the new Whingeincidenty Commission to evaluate this? There would be an endless stream of work in the ACT.

amarooresident33:00 pm 05 Jan 11

@20 you forget to mention it was losing money hand over fist.

http://www.audit.act.gov.au/auditreports/reports2002/Report_5_02.pdf

I just worked out why we lost V8 Supercars

“The Assembly voted to stage the event, with the only opposition coming from the Greens Party who believed that the race would create both air and noise pollution.”

ahh Canberra, I love you so ……….

Holden Caulfield said: “Everyone says how bad the Nats is and yet about 3km away I struggle to tell the event is on. Sure you see a few more HSV and FPV shirts on the punters in Civic, and a few more tasteless haircuts, but, really, just HTFU.
When there is something genuine to complain about go your hardest, but otherwise just accept that other people like different things and let the bogans be.”

So you feel that, since you like the Summernats, it is not a valid topic for people to dislike.

Fair enough.

Could you please compile a list of valid (“genuine”) things that we can complain about?

The V8 Supercars in Canberra failed for several stupid and avoidable reasons. Firstly, it was held in winter and it was bitterly cold. It attracted about 50,000 people despite it being a bad time of year. Secondly, the track design was rubbish and despite Canberra having nice wide roads, they decided to run the track on narrow roads within the Parliamentary triangle. Thirdly, there was a change of Government and Stanhope canned it.

Homebush also has a crap track design, but draws a large crowd because it also has decent side attractions that also entertain people who aren’t even motorsport fans.

Admittedly the V8 Supercars in those years did not have the force and following it does now. Back then, it was a fairly new rebranding of the Australian Touring Car Championship but now it recognised as an FIA international touring car series.

I like Summernats.

If there was another place I could go in ACT/NSW to see the types of cars that are brought to the Nats I would go there too. I go to the Shannons sponsored car show on the lawns of Parliament House, I go to the Italio Motor vehicle show by the lake, I go to the corvette shows that are held in Canberra. If you like cars, drinking, bogans and yelling, go all day. If you like cars but don’t like bogans, yelling and shenanigans, go early. If you don’t like any, don’t go, just don’t complain about it.

Car shows are great, but to see highly modified vehicles you have to go to the Nats. Car shows are for matching numbered restored or original beauties. The Nats are for high horsepowered modified vehicles.

This is a multicultural society and there is certainly a culture to high horsepowered vehicles, so show your tolerance and accept a festival to allow people from this culture to celebrate and show off. I have no doubt that if you lived in Ipswitch or some place similar the residents would complain about you sending back a latte that has incorrectly been topped off with too much froth (a Canberra cultured thing) and you would expect them to be tolerant of you.

Holden Caulfield2:18 pm 05 Jan 11

EvanJames said: “On other unrelated forums on the internet the last few weeks, I’ve seen various boganish people talking about how much they’re looking forward to heading to Canberra for the Summernats, and not once has any of them mentioned cars. They do mention Having Fun, Getting Drunk (very), Letting It All Hang Out, and various unspecified action to do with “chicks”.

What, you mean, like at a music festival or on New Years Eve? How uptight did you get when Foreshore closed down a fair portion of the Parliamentary Triangle, or did you get upset at all those rotten ratbags that got pissed a few days ago? What about letting off publicly funded Fireworks all through the night?

I’d like to see a proper whinge:incident analysis.

Everyone says how bad the Nats is and yet about 3km away I struggle to tell the event is on. Sure you see a few more HSV and FPV shirts on the punters in Civic, and a few more tasteless haircuts, but, really, just HTFU.

When there is something genuine to complain about go your hardest, but otherwise just accept that other people like different things and let the bogans be.

Ahhh H1NGO1 +2!

I remember these days of V8 supercars but this made me look up and read what wiki had to say …”To most Canberrans this is just a normal winter, but to interstate visitors who weren’t used to such cold conditions, it was too cold.” and this was from the ‘downfall’ section of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canberra_400

People need to man up and enjoy the supercars racing, despite of the Canberra cold!
For an Canberran, like myself, it is definitely a normal winter routine. Pffttt.

Holden Caulfield2:05 pm 05 Jan 11

@Chop71 – we did have a V8 Supercar round for a few years but the masters of intelligence at AVESCO scheduled the event in June and then complained that it was too cold.

Meanwhile, I suspect Francois Dillinger et al kept warm by writing letters of complaint to the Canberra Times.

Of course Summernats has its faults, and it’s not really my cup of tea, but since it has been enclosed at EPIC it has been much better so far as anti-social behaviour working its way into broader Canberra is concerned.

I have lived a few suburbs away for the last six years and in that time if I didn’t know the Nats was actually on I’d not have known. Maybe if I lived in Watson I’d feel differently, and that’s probably fair enough. But it’s a few days every year, it’s not really that bad.

For me, the Nats is as much of a pain in the arse as Floriade, yet one is the second coming of Chri$t while the other is the Devil.

“I have never thought about it but why don’t we have V8 Supercars in the Nations Capital?”

Because the last time they had it, it sent WatersEdge broke?

On other unrelated forums on the internet the last few weeks, I’ve seen various boganish people talking about how much they’re looking forward to heading to Canberra for the Summernats, and not once has any of them mentioned cars. They do mention Having Fun, Getting Drunk (very), Letting It All Hang Out, and various unspecified action to do with “chicks”.

I also would like to see a proper cost benefit analysis. Some businesses make some money (many of whom travel to Canberra for the event to flog stuff), but how much is spent on law enforcement, fixing the filthy mess, the vandalism, the damage to people’s own private property, and of course the noise and stench that the residents nearby have to put up with.

H1NGO +1

I have never thought about it but why don’t we have V8 Supercars in the Nations Capital?

“Ah Summernats. Let the whinging begin. Don’t you just love it when the Canberra left wing greenie latte set object to anything which has anything to do with male culture/boganism/the real Australia beyond the ACT. Most of us just sit back and have a wry giggle as they spout their precious, highly predictable nonsense.”

I love motorsport and car shows but Summernats is a festering turd of an excuse for a car festival. I am not a greeny in the slightest sense of the term either. Personally, I would love to see them ditch Summernats and concentrate on brining back the V8 Supercars. Look what it has done for Townsville, Gold Coast and Homebush. Those are proper motor festivals.

“Ah Summernats. Let the whinging begin. Don’t you just love it when the Canberra left wing greenie latte set object to anything which has anything to do with male culture/boganism/the real Australia beyond the ACT. Most of us just sit back and have a wry giggle as they spout their precious, highly predictable nonsense.”

What a knob. Someone like Francois Dillinger makes some pretty reasonable comments regarding this gathering of arsehats, and the benefits or non-benefits thereof, and the only response from this tool is to start waffling furiously and meaninglessly about left-wing greenie latte drinkers.

This is the least worthwhile post I have ever seen on this site. I know I’m just feeding a nasty little troll, but somehow I just can’t stop myself.

Most of us just sit back and have a wry giggle as they spout their precious, highly predictable nonsense.

Meanwhile, of course, the other side of things is just as predictable and nonsensical. I’m with niftydog – if that’s “The Real Australia” then let’s just build a wall around the ACT border – I’m quite happy to have nothing to do with it. (Of course, having been to some of the rest of Australia, I’m happy to report that that is not in fact the case).

I had the misfortune of working at a few Summernats, and if that is “the real Australia beyond the ACT” then I am a chocolate cake with frosting and sprinkles.

georgesgenitals12:56 pm 05 Jan 11

C’mon guys, it’ll all be over before you know it… Might be fun to have a walk through Braddon this Friday night!

Ah Summernats. Let the whinging begin. Don’t you just love it when the Canberra left wing greenie latte set object to anything which has anything to do with male culture/boganism/the real Australia beyond the ACT. Most of us just sit back and have a wry giggle as they spout their precious, highly predictable nonsense.

..or perhaps I should email TAMS and ask what fee patrons must pay in order to drink alcohol in these areas?

Hmm, I wonder if this ‘Alcohol Fee Zone’ is another revenue raising tactic!

Francois Dillinger12:13 pm 05 Jan 11

Probably the most irritating part about it all is that complaining makes you a prude in some people’s eyes. I’ve got nothing against motorsports or special interests groups getting together (especially in Canberra and bringing tourist money), but Summernats really is the pits.

I’d like to see a proper economic analysis (christ I do sound like a prude) of the costs and benefits to Canberra.

Sure there are increases in hotel/motel bookings and an increase in dosh spent around the city, but there are huge externalities associated with hosting the event, not least of which the huge police presence required to keep the rabble under control. Of course, not all attendees are rabble (I’d be putting family and close friends in said basket if it were the case) but you’d have to be deaf blind and stupid to argue that there isnt a spike in anti-social behaviour and crime ‘co-inciding’ with the time and place.

Putting aside those horror stories we all know of the watson motels rooms being trashed beyond recognition, I think there is a strong argument to say that the event doesnt belong (at least in its current form) in Canberra.

eyeLikeCarrots11:54 am 05 Jan 11

January 10th – my favorite day of 2011

I can almost hear the douche

Any weird looking car sightings yet? I haven’t seen any.

Francois Dillinger10:38 am 05 Jan 11

Summernats… Canberra’s annual four days of purgatory.

What more can be expected when the visitors need to be actively informed that they cannot camp or park their cars on Northbourne Avenue.

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