Controlled cruise returns to Street Machine Weekend
By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on July 12, 2024.
Herald file photo by Ian Martens -
Passengers in a convertible roll by in a parade of classic cars, hot rods, trucks, muscle cars and souped-up imports take part in the Friday Night Cruise along 3 Avenue South during a past year's Street Machine Weekend.LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com
Street Machine Weekend will see the return of the classic car controlled cruise along 3 Avenue South tonight from 7 to 10 p.m. after a five-year hiatus.
Alex Dewar, president of the Street Wheelers Car Club told the Herald during a phone interview that he is very happy along with the club members to be able to bring the cruise back.
“A lot of construction was happening within downtown which prevented us from leveraging our regular route, but since that’s all kind of finished we’ve been able to work with the city to be able to bring it back,” said Dewar.
He said their top priority is to offer a safe environment for car enthusiasts to gather and enjoy a variety of vehicles, while also taking the opportunity to help those wanting to gain racing skills through offering a chance to learn.
Dewar added that thanks to their good working relationship with Lethbridge police they have been able to offer a safe environment for those in attendance throughout decades.
“We provide these outlets for people to get racing off the streets and it’s very much a teaching opportunity. For our 100-foot dash we can teach people how to drag race,” said Dewar.
With 48 years under their belt, Dewar said the Street Wheelers Car Club has multiple members able to teach people how to race safely.
“With the racing aspect, there’s potential for vehicles to be incredibly fast and if you’re worried about racing, we have a class for you that is very competitive for the type of vehicle you have. Members are racers themselves and have a good idea and can certainly teach you,” said Dewar.
He said weekend activities include the controlled cruise tonight from 7-10 p.m. along 3 Avenue South, the 100-foot dash at Lethbridge Exhibition from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and the Show and Shine on Sunday at Galt Gardens from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., where those in attendance will also see food trucks.
“We want you to be safe, not only by making sure you stay hydrated during this hot weather, but also by keeping racing off the streets. Our events are a safe platform for you to race your car, so please join our events and keep the streets safe for everyone,” said Dewar.
With the weekend activities happening for the last few decades, many have visited Lethbridge in the summer with the purpose of taking part of Street Machine weekend and Tourism Lethbridge has been able to track the economic impact of the events from previous years.
Dominika Wojcik, senior director of communications for Tourism Lethbridge, told the Herald that in the past this event has brought well over 10,000 people to the city, which translates into a big economic impact.
“We know that at least 10 to 15 per cent of that is visitors. And since this is a multi-day event, the economic impact is huge. We’ve done calculations in the past for this event and we’ve actually seen over $500,000 in economic impact directly into our community,” said Wojcik.
She said this year Tourism Lethbridge will be partaking in the weekend activities for the second year in a row with their poker run.
“It’s a really fun way to explore the city and while we know we have some of these vehicles coming from out of town, last year we did the poker run we had over 100 participants and about 30 of those were directly from out of town which is really cool,” said Wojcik.
17-16
This does not stop racing on the streets. We have areas we race in. It’s dangerous. But there’s no other option. This once in a blue moon 100 yard dash shouldn’t be claiming to be doing anything to prevent street racing. Its a lie.