CORONADO, Calif. (KGTV) – Coronado and the San Diego region are ready to start their engines with the NASCAR races happening on Naval Base North Island starting tomorrow.
“Coronado is super excited,” Mayor John Duncan, City of Coronado, said. “Obviously, some of the people, the locals here, are a little concerned about traffic.”
Duncan said locals on the island may want to avoid certain roads a few hours before race times until they start this weekend.
“I would try to stay off those roads unless you absolutely have to. So, we have 3rd and 4th(Avenues) coming in and leaving. We also have you can go south down the Strand through Imperial Beach. But yeah, obviously those are going to be the big, impacted times,” Duncan said.
But Duncan told ABC 10News the City’s been working with the U.S. Navy and NASCAR when it comes to traffic on the island during race weekend.
“We're in daily contact. The Navy is changing some shifts up so that some of the shifts that would be coming at that time will not,” Duncan said. “We're used to having a lot of cars here. We get about 100,000 a day. The base has about 20,000 people coming on and off every day, so we're pretty used to it.”
Duncan said Saturday and Sunday should see the greatest number of cars arriving on the island.
“It's about 40,000 more cars on Saturday and Sunday. Friday about 20,000. So yes, it's going to be busy,” Duncan said. “I recommend coming up to 4 hours early for the races.”
Caltrans also encourages people heading to the race to leave early and be patient. It said there will be message signs around the I-5 area, and lanes on the Coronado Bridge will be arranged to accommodate traffic.
Duncan says packing that patience is important for everyone heading to Coronado, even if you’re not going to this weekend’s NASCAR races.
“Be patient when you're trying to park. You know, you'll find a spot. Be patient at the restaurants. Be patient at any other store you go to,” Duncan said. “I mean, we want the business. This business helps carry all of our restaurants and businesses for the whole year when it's not as busy, but it's right at the start of summer, and so it's going to be busy.”
