Street racing in Calgary: Police arrest 2, issue dozens of violations

A weekend operation that targeted street racing in southeast Calgary has resulted in at least two arrests and dozens of violations against drivers.

Officers set up in an area "well-known for street racing" in the Foothills industrial area on both Friday and Saturday night.

Police say drivers regularly gather at 76 Avenue and 68 Street S.E. to street race, which often poses a danger to road users as well as pedestrians.

"Several resources from across the service, including HAWCS, the traffic section and patrol, were targeting drivers involved in street racing," police said in a statement.

"Our officers set up roadblocks and barricades on select streets, were monitoring parking lots and traffic in the area, and identified many unsafe vehicles and hazardous driving offences."

Police issued 90 tickets (for speeding, racing, driving and equipment violations), 51 traffic offence warnings, seven notices for drivers to address vehicle safety concerns and two outstanding warrants.

Police also charged two drivers: one for dangerous driving when they were caught driving more than 100 km/h over the posted speed limit, and the other for racing, which resulted in a 24-hour vehicle seizure.

Officials disputed the area is safe to race in because of low traffic levels.

"I know everyone likes to think that they can drive their car like the pros, like they see on TV, but that's just not the case. Our roads are not designed for that," said Staff Sgt. Robert Patterson with the CPS traffic unit.

"The potential for serious collisions as a result of illegal street racing activity is significant."

SEARCHING FOR A SOLUTION: COUNCILLOR

One city councillor says illegal street racing is among the top complaint he's hearing about from people in his ward. He wants city administration to look into possible options for a designated street racing area in the city – one that potentially could have police on-site for safety. 

Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot wants officials to explore a location that is "suitable to at least mitigate some of those potential injuries," potentially airport land.

Chabot believes the closure of Race City years ago could be a reason Calgary is seeing more illegal street racing.

A new track north of the city, Rocky Mountain Motorsports, opened last year and does allow racing, though public access is limited for those who don't have a membership.

Chabot brought forward a similar motion last year, but it did not receive enough support at the committee stage to be brought to council as a whole. He's pledging to work more with his council colleagues to try to figure out a better motion and solution.

Though the Foothills Industrial area is a hotspot for racing recently, police note it is happening in nearly every community. 

"They're sick and tired of having people racing up and down their streets late at night," Chabot says of what he's hearing from residents. 

"It's not good for them, it's not good for quality of life and it's not good for the use and enjoyment of their residential properties."

Anyone with concerns about street racing or other dangerous driving activities in their community is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.