My mother asked me to go with her to some freaking baby shower in Renton on fraday night. So, I did. On my way back, i am driving, and because i am not familiar with the Kent area, i divurge from the main street and i end up on West valley highway, an awful little road, with abundance of railroads, and potholes. There are millions of "street racers" on friday night, so i stop at a stop light, and there rolls a vette C5, and the guy looks at me, where my mother intervenes as she says that i am not going to race, and i tell her the same. the next thing that happens is a freaking cop pulls behind me. The vette guy does not know that there is a cop, and takes off like a maniac, in a second. the cop pulls me over and i am driving even below the speed limit, and tells me that i am there to race, where again, my mother gets pissed and yells at the dude with uniform, and convinses him that we are passers by. I almost got i ticket because my front license plate is not mounted, but big deal. So be carfull , i did not think that this thing is sooooo popular on friday night.

 

uhhh kind of awkward the cop would do that since you have to go at the same time he is going and accelerate at a high pace. otherwise anyone can get a ticket just by waiting at a stop light...what a retarded cop.

 

Kent was a TON of fun back a few years ago in Highschool.... but i stopped going because it was the sameeeee **** every friday/saturday night... Damn, those races have been going on for like 10+ years.... every clear friday/saturday...

 

Same turbo hondas every time. Fukcing gay.

 

I know , i saw them flying by me. However, as i said , the cops are a problem, i got pulled over, just to stoping at an intersection. I read that the cops have done several crack downs.

 

that is lame. Was it between 10pm and 5am? ...because there are signs out there prohibiting street racing during those times. ...its ok otherwise.

 

It was after midnight 12-12:30 am.

 

I live above the valley on the east hill just on the Kent/Renton border. If I ever have to be passing by that area on a Fri/Sat night, even if it's getting off Hwy 167, I make sure to drive my truck instead of either of my cars. That place is a magnet for ricers and kids on a Fri or Sat night when the weather is dry. I've been followed several times in the past by officers patroling that area and once I was ticketed down there cuz I was in the wrong place at the wrong time in my Z.

 

that's right where I live...in Fairwood

 

I don't live the far east. I am literally overlooking the valley, at the top of the hill above Valley Medical center, a few blocks north of the Benson Plaza. I've been hearing the street racing going on for years now (been at my current home for 5 years) and it is interesting how the stuff down in the valley unfolds. It seems odd that it's been going on for so long. I think if the authorities really wanted to end it, they could do it, but maybe they like the power trip it give them. Plus the revenue it brings in must be pretty good for both Renton and Kent.

 

Yes, i agree with you drivesolo, the revenue should be good, this illegal activity makes the Renton/Kent thriving cities, but the f****g cops are ridiculous, you become an aim if you drive a sports car

 

Ya know... I got to thinking this morning of how much the two cities must bring in from having things this way. Here's what I'm thinking:

- at least 2 patrol cars (most likely more but I've seen at least 2 while traveling from Tukwila to Renton via 180th Street) on a Saturday night.
- Guesstimate: Each until must write about 10 citations a night.
- Guesstimate: From what I know the lowest citation that is written is for a fix-it type thing like not having a front plate: $110. The highest citation that I've heard from a friend receiving is a $1050 (speeding in a construction zone). I'm guessing $300 would be the "average" citation.
- Guesstimate: There are probably 20 weekends out of the year that they patrol that area looking to hand out tickets.

So in doing a very crude estimate & calculation:
2 patrol units x 2 nights x 10 citations x $300 per citation x 20 weekends = $240,000 a year

Man.... that's a good chunk of revenue. No wonder it's been going on for as long as it has. The 'No Street Racing' zones marked by the signs probably give them the right to write even larger fines and fine 'spectators' too.

 

this is so gay...I love racing...At some point the cops should just stop fighting it, and go with the flow. I'm all about ticketing the rediculous honda's out there with the enormous muflers on them, but for the real cars down there, the cops should just block off a street for them/us to race. The cops used to do this for us down in Louisville KY. It was great. They blocked off the streets to make it somewhat safe, and watched the crowd to make sure nobody was drinking. Some of the cops even lined up against us. I think if they did something like that here, it would not be such a hassle for both the police, and the people going. Racing as many of you know can be a good release from stress, and can make you feel good afterwards. I know I might get flamed for this by some of you, but ohwell. Don't get me wrong, I like going to the actual raceways too. I have only been down to the Kent/Renton races 4-5 times. Didn't like it just because of all the cops down there. Drivesolo, I think that your numbers are a bit off. Each time I have been down there, there are anywhere from 6-8 cops (that were easily seen from the main streets). I do understand about the revenue too, but why not charge an admission fee of like $5 (even though that is more than some of those cars down there are worth). Everyone pays it too, not just the racers, but the spectators too.

 

^ Yep, I was trying to be a little conservative w/ my estimations as to not come out w/ an unreasonable number. There are probably more patrol cars and more citations being handed out each night than in my initial guesstimates. It's possible that Kent/Renton could very well be taking in more than $1 million a year in revenue from the patroling of that area. I guess that's more than enough reason why they don't do anything to prevent it, it's too lucrativce of a business.

 

Portland opens their track, and charges (a little bit, I think it's $10-$20) to get in to run or watch.

Street racing is down (significantly!) there, and they have all of the equipment to "do it right." Also, they don't have to worry about "grandma" coming out of a side street -- or someone wanting to cross the street.

The big difference is that PIR is a city park, so the city gets the revenue.

 

I'm sorry but there's no justification for allowing racing on public streets....those cops in Louisville opened themselves up to big lawsuits if someone was killed.....just plain stupid....

 

This is one of the dumbest things I've ever read. "Don't get me wrong." You probably get pissed off when cops write tickets and say something like "Don't they have anything better to do? Why don't they go find the murderers and rapists?" On the other hand you think it's reasonable for the police force to spend their time baby sitting a bunch of 2F2F wannabe's?

 

Do you even know how many cops that area has? Tons. If they just sent out 2 cars to help block off streets and stuff, and enforce that nobody is drinking and driving there, then they would actually have more cops out there actually doing the hard jobs of busting actual criminals. Also, the city/state would also be receiving revenue from the people going to the races. Did you ever notice that when you leave a racetrack, all the people that were racing don't race home? I have. That leads me to believe that if they did do something like this, people would be less likely to go racing 120 in a 35mph zone. Just my 2 cents on the topic. I know that there are a lot of people out there (including this forum) that don't like how I drive. Sorry to hear that. But, why have a fast car if you don't plan on driving it fast?

 

You should have seen some of the other things that happen down there. If that is the worse thing that hapens, that city is in good shape. I lived there for almost 2 years, in that time, I was shot at 3 times, my old car got hit once by a 45, watched a girl outside a club refuse to give her number to another guy, so the guy pulled out a gun, put it to her head, and pulled the trigger. Also watched a gun fight break out at the street races when the bikers decided to show up.

 

and that's why I stay away from the inbred hillbilly parts of the country.....but its not really relevant to what you said about police "encouraging" street racing. I'm not trying to come down on ya or pass judgment because in my younger days I was crazy on wheels, whether it was 2 wheels or 4. I paid the price for it too. I know its been said before but take it to the track.....you'll have much more fun...no worries about cops or some kid or old lady getting in the way. Plus....you'll learn alot more about your driving skills and your car's capabilities at the track than you would street racing.