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A proposed motocross racetrack on Reed Street has neighbors revving their engines.

Proposed racetrack runs into opposition

By Jonathan Cook

Turley Publications Reporter

WARREN – “Nobody wants to hear motorcycles everyday of their life,” said motocross promoter and former professional Keith Goyette of Southwick.

And he wouldn’t put his neighbors on Reed Street through that, he adds.

Nevertheless, Goyette recently paid $195,000 for 147 acres and plans a 20-acre motocross track with 390 parking spaces. He would hold about 25 weekend events per year plus open for practice during the week, he said. He added that it will take five to seven years to get up to a full schedule.

“People are always looking for somewhere to ride,” he said. “Farmers don’t want you cutting through their property anymore,” added Goyette, who has a pair of daughters he rides with. He said there is a demand for a track because there are only three others in the state.

Goyette also said people will travel from all over New England to come to Warren and will need to find food and fuel and sometimes a place to stay.

Another economic benefit will be new jobs. He said he will hire five full-time people as well as local teens to be part-time flaggers. He will also hire construction workers to build two houses, an office building and a first-aid station.

And, of course, he is sensitive to the noise up to 40 motorcycles will make. He said he needs to be especially considerate during summer when people have windows open. He said he has read up on all the noise regulations and is aware there is a decibel level he must stay within. He also said he has noise consultants working on the job and will put the starting gate behind a hill. The proximity of the turnpike will also help to mask the noise, he said.

Most of the property will be untouched, he emphasized. “I like wildlife. It’s a nice property with a couple of ponds on it. I’m going to build a retirement home for my father and a home for my family.”

Though Goyette said he spoke to “about 80 percent of abutters” before he purchased his property and heard no opposition, he is hearing it now.

Now that there are more than a dozen signs up on Reed Street in opposition to his plan, Goyette said he is worried about sending his kids to school in town. “Do I want my daughters to see that?”

He added, “It looks bad. At this point, I feel disgusted with the whole thing.”

That’s how some neighbors feel, too. Just ask Joan Drazek. She’s lived on Reed St. for 75 years and has seen most of the houses go up. “It’s turned into a really pretty road,” she said. As for a motocross track, “I don’t think it belongs here,” she said. “We’re afraid home values will drop.”

She said she doubts much can be done about the noise and adds, “The traffic will be unreal. I don’t think the town is ready for that.”

She’s not alone. Residents have begun to circulate a petition that has gained more than 200 signatures already.

Admittedly, Goyette has not helped his own cause. Last week the daily Springfield newspaper quoted him as saying if he could not build his racetrack he would put in a trailer park instead.

But now, he says, he didn’t mean it. For one thing, he didn’t know he was speaking to a reporter, he said. “I thought she was a Republican.” He added that the person he thought he was speaking with is a town hall employee – one particular employee that Goyette would not name. He claims this one person is spreading ill will and, though he will not name her now, he said he will confront her “for the record” at some point.

And, for the record, he said he will not be attempting to install a mobile home park, no matter what. “I threw it out there as a dig at one person, not at the town,” he said, adding that if it comes to it, “After all the money I’ve spent, I’ll probably bring in some cows and take up farming.”

His neighbors might think he’s Ghengis Kahn, but he said he has no hard feelings. “I don’t want to beat up my neighbors. I’m not a fighter. I don’t look at the bad things in life. I’m going to try to work with them,” he said.

“I had a vision to make a place a father can go riding with his son. And I’ll make it so people can come down and watch.” But at the same time, he said, “People don’t need to see what I have going on.”

Keith Goyette is just a man in search of his home. “I’m looking for a place in this world for myself and my sport,” he said.