Boston Mayor Martin Walsh on Friday "sideswiped state officials ... for delays in giving the green light to a first-ever" Verizon IndyCar Series road race on the South Boston waterfront, "days before the event could take another hit -- losing its marquee spot as the sport’s season finale," according to Joe Battenfeld of the BOSTON HERALD. Walsh is "clearly frustrated at mounting questions about funding and other criticism surrounding the Boston IndyCar race." Walsh said of several state agencies that control roads where the course is planned having not signed agreements with race organizers, "I don't understand." He added, "We’re not talking about building a 60-story building in the city of Boston. We’re talking about a race that’s going to last for three days, so I’m not sure what the confusion is around it." The mayor, "who signed an agreement with race organizers in May without public input or state approval, also complained that critics and others are making 'a big deal … over this' by questioning the impact the race will have on residents and traffic." Walsh’s comments "come as Verizon IndyCar reportedly plans to announce its 2016 schedule next week with Boston’s Labor Day race as the next-to-last event of the season -- not the final spot that race organizers and Walsh had promised." A number of racing publications "have reported the season finale will be Sept. 18 in Sonoma, Calif.," where the finale was held this year. Walsh "had touted hosting the season 'championship' race as a major factor in why the event, with turbocharged cars flying up to 170 miles per hour on city streets, would be successful in Boston and generate millions in revenue and 250,000 visitors." Walsh: "We were the last race." He said having Boston as the final was "somewhat the exciting piece of it" (BOSTON HERALD, 10/25).
CARDIAC KIDS: In Boston, Joan Vennochi asked, "Do we really need a high speed, IndyCar race clogging up the Seaport with crowds and exhaust fumes?" Walsh last May "signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Grand Prix of Boston for up to five Labor Day races in the Seaport area." It "all happened without any public hearings or information revealed about resident inconvenience or taxpayer investment -- just like Boston’s ill-fated effort to host" the '24 Games. Walsh "promoted a plan which causes major disruption without neighborhood buy-in" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/25).
