Who's driving their Vette to the 2010 WDC?
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4LT GS Roadster
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Cities find Woodward Dream Cruise costs a challenge
Royal Oak -- Some cash-strapped communities along Woodward Avenue are spending less money on the Woodward Dream Cruise this year, forced to cut back support as the stalled economy squeezes municipal budgets.
But others like Ferndale and Royal Oak, which bear the brunt of activity on Cruise day, are holding the line on costs and are prepared for the year's largest gathering and car celebration along Woodward Avenue on Aug. 21.
Participation in the Cruise is free, but paying for the cost of the event -- police, trash cleanup and special events -- always has been the responsibility of the host communities that line Woodward Avenue from Ferndale to Pontiac.
Each community must budget for extra police and fire hours, extra cleanup after the event and local events not paid for by sponsors. That cost in past years has run as low as $10,000 in smaller cities like Bloomfield Hills to as much as $100,000 in Royal Oak, which has become the Cruise epicenter.
"When you come to downtown Ferndale, you are going to see a party," City Manager Robert Bruner said. "This year it's really business as usual. In terms of costs, it's a break-even proposition for us."
Ferndale, which hosts multi-day events for the Cruise, has budgeted about $20,000 for police, fire and Department of Public Works overtime, the same amount it did last year, Bruner said. The city receives financial support from sponsors that host events ranging from concerts to car shows.
But smaller communities such as Pleasant Ridge are cutting back spending on the event. Faced with laying off a police officer and cutting $250,000 from its budget, Pleasant Ridge opted not to spend $25,000 this year to pay police overtime to shut down Woodward and to pay city employees to work the day of the Cruise.
It was the first time in the Cruise's 16-year history that a host city dropped out of participating in the event, which draws 1.5 million car fans and 40,000 classic cars to historic Woodward Avenue the third Saturday of each August.
Birmingham no longer sends a representative to the Woodward Dream Cruise (WDC) Inc. Board, the nonprofit group that lines up sponsors and raises the profile of the cruise, in order to cut back on staffing costs for the city. But Birmingham still hosts Cruise events and pays its police overtime to handle traffic and road closures the day of the event.
Cruise continues to grow
Officials in Huntington Woods, which has only about a mile of Woodward frontage, said they have been spending less on the event the last few years as the availability of additional funds has disappeared. City Manager Alex Allie said the city approved a resolution in 2003 that no public tax dollars would be used for the event.
Officials budget for police overtime, which is required to close off Woodward Avenue at the end of the event, but any special events such as concerts have been paid for by sponsors, Allie said.
"We used to have concerts and decorate Woodward," Allie said. "We haven't been putting much into it in the last few years."
Despite the cutbacks by cities, the event continues to grow in popularity year after year and has become the world's largest one-day automotive event, drawing people from across the globe -- from as far away as New Zealand, Australia, Japan and the former Soviet Union.
Officials with the WDC Inc. Board had hoped to expand Cruise activities this year by adding a 5K fun run the morning of the event.
When asked to police the event in Royal Oak, Police Chief Chris Jahnke turned down the request, citing low police staffing levels. Jahnke said his preference is to focus his force on the main event now that his department is down to 65 officers from 103 in 2004.
Royal Oak police will meet with a dozen law enforcement agencies in the next two weeks to discuss patrol plans for the Cruise, which involves officers from more than two dozen regional agencies and the Oakland County Sheriff's Department.
Revenue tough to come by
Deputy Chief Corey O'Donohue said Royal Oak expects to spend about the same on the Cruise as it has in past years, around $100,000, but it's getting less help from neighboring police departments, which have suffered under the brunt of their own budget cuts.
"On Friday and Saturday, we have all hands on deck and it's all the hands we've got. We are getting help (from other agencies) but not as much as before," he said.
Cruise officials began looking for another city to host the 5K run, but no other city was able to take on the additional costs or work out the logistics of a run along a major road like Woodward, said Tony Michaels, WDC Inc. Board executive director.
"We ran into roadblocks and it's been a tough situation with cutbacks," Michaels said.
The WDC Inc. Board had hoped to generate $400,000 in revenues this year -- money that comes from sponsorship, merchandise sales and fundraising events like concerts -- but WDC treasurer Leslie Helwig said the board won't hit that mark. It was unable to land a major sponsor after MotorCity Casino did not return.
Sales of official Cruise merchandise also are soft this year compared to last, officials said, but are expected to surge closer to the event.
The good news, Helwig said, is that expenses -- which run from $33,000 for portable toilets to $88,200 for an executive management company -- also are down this year.
TDN
Royal Oak -- Some cash-strapped communities along Woodward Avenue are spending less money on the Woodward Dream Cruise this year, forced to cut back support as the stalled economy squeezes municipal budgets.
But others like Ferndale and Royal Oak, which bear the brunt of activity on Cruise day, are holding the line on costs and are prepared for the year's largest gathering and car celebration along Woodward Avenue on Aug. 21.
Participation in the Cruise is free, but paying for the cost of the event -- police, trash cleanup and special events -- always has been the responsibility of the host communities that line Woodward Avenue from Ferndale to Pontiac.
Each community must budget for extra police and fire hours, extra cleanup after the event and local events not paid for by sponsors. That cost in past years has run as low as $10,000 in smaller cities like Bloomfield Hills to as much as $100,000 in Royal Oak, which has become the Cruise epicenter.
"When you come to downtown Ferndale, you are going to see a party," City Manager Robert Bruner said. "This year it's really business as usual. In terms of costs, it's a break-even proposition for us."
Ferndale, which hosts multi-day events for the Cruise, has budgeted about $20,000 for police, fire and Department of Public Works overtime, the same amount it did last year, Bruner said. The city receives financial support from sponsors that host events ranging from concerts to car shows.
But smaller communities such as Pleasant Ridge are cutting back spending on the event. Faced with laying off a police officer and cutting $250,000 from its budget, Pleasant Ridge opted not to spend $25,000 this year to pay police overtime to shut down Woodward and to pay city employees to work the day of the Cruise.
It was the first time in the Cruise's 16-year history that a host city dropped out of participating in the event, which draws 1.5 million car fans and 40,000 classic cars to historic Woodward Avenue the third Saturday of each August.
Birmingham no longer sends a representative to the Woodward Dream Cruise (WDC) Inc. Board, the nonprofit group that lines up sponsors and raises the profile of the cruise, in order to cut back on staffing costs for the city. But Birmingham still hosts Cruise events and pays its police overtime to handle traffic and road closures the day of the event.
Cruise continues to grow
Officials in Huntington Woods, which has only about a mile of Woodward frontage, said they have been spending less on the event the last few years as the availability of additional funds has disappeared. City Manager Alex Allie said the city approved a resolution in 2003 that no public tax dollars would be used for the event.
Officials budget for police overtime, which is required to close off Woodward Avenue at the end of the event, but any special events such as concerts have been paid for by sponsors, Allie said.
"We used to have concerts and decorate Woodward," Allie said. "We haven't been putting much into it in the last few years."
Despite the cutbacks by cities, the event continues to grow in popularity year after year and has become the world's largest one-day automotive event, drawing people from across the globe -- from as far away as New Zealand, Australia, Japan and the former Soviet Union.
Officials with the WDC Inc. Board had hoped to expand Cruise activities this year by adding a 5K fun run the morning of the event.
When asked to police the event in Royal Oak, Police Chief Chris Jahnke turned down the request, citing low police staffing levels. Jahnke said his preference is to focus his force on the main event now that his department is down to 65 officers from 103 in 2004.
Royal Oak police will meet with a dozen law enforcement agencies in the next two weeks to discuss patrol plans for the Cruise, which involves officers from more than two dozen regional agencies and the Oakland County Sheriff's Department.
Revenue tough to come by
Deputy Chief Corey O'Donohue said Royal Oak expects to spend about the same on the Cruise as it has in past years, around $100,000, but it's getting less help from neighboring police departments, which have suffered under the brunt of their own budget cuts.
"On Friday and Saturday, we have all hands on deck and it's all the hands we've got. We are getting help (from other agencies) but not as much as before," he said.
Cruise officials began looking for another city to host the 5K run, but no other city was able to take on the additional costs or work out the logistics of a run along a major road like Woodward, said Tony Michaels, WDC Inc. Board executive director.
"We ran into roadblocks and it's been a tough situation with cutbacks," Michaels said.
The WDC Inc. Board had hoped to generate $400,000 in revenues this year -- money that comes from sponsorship, merchandise sales and fundraising events like concerts -- but WDC treasurer Leslie Helwig said the board won't hit that mark. It was unable to land a major sponsor after MotorCity Casino did not return.
Sales of official Cruise merchandise also are soft this year compared to last, officials said, but are expected to surge closer to the event.
The good news, Helwig said, is that expenses -- which run from $33,000 for portable toilets to $88,200 for an executive management company -- also are down this year.
TDN
- Thread starter
- #3
Car fanatics quick to nab parking spots...
The Michigan economy may be cold, but parking is hot for the annual Woodward Dream Cruise next week. Cruisers looking for last-minute parking spots to show off their classic "Detroit Iron" on Aug. 21 are going to find slim pickings again this year, and prices that are comparable to previous cruises.
TDN
The Michigan economy may be cold, but parking is hot for the annual Woodward Dream Cruise next week. Cruisers looking for last-minute parking spots to show off their classic "Detroit Iron" on Aug. 21 are going to find slim pickings again this year, and prices that are comparable to previous cruises.
TDN
BigMike5
Well-known member
Woodward
6 - I will be going up there on Thursday but will be in a 2010 TorRed Challenger R/T Classic with a few striping mods on her. Taking the wife to see her sister so the heated seats are a necessity and the 04 Vette does not have em, so...its the Challenger this time. I will try to touch base with Larry and the Vette crew near Borders Book store lot. He is supposed to have 300-400 Vettes coming. Should be awesome if the weather stays in low 80's. I will do my cruise about 0900 on Saturday and then park and gawk til I run out of gas.
6 - I will be going up there on Thursday but will be in a 2010 TorRed Challenger R/T Classic with a few striping mods on her. Taking the wife to see her sister so the heated seats are a necessity and the 04 Vette does not have em, so...its the Challenger this time. I will try to touch base with Larry and the Vette crew near Borders Book store lot. He is supposed to have 300-400 Vettes coming. Should be awesome if the weather stays in low 80's. I will do my cruise about 0900 on Saturday and then park and gawk til I run out of gas.
We are leaving now and will be around 12 and 13 mile roads......
- Thread starter
- #6
WOW - What an awesome car show...
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:cool
BigMike5
Well-known member
Woodward Dream Cruise
Well, we had a little liquid sunshine, but it was a good cruise day since the weather and economy kept the number of cars down quite a bit. I was able to run from Maple to Pontiac and then down to 9 Mile and then back up to Birmingham near Borders and the traffic was relatively easy until well after noon. I shot some pics with the camera in one hand and the umbrella in the other.
Walked over to Borders wearing my checkered flag pants outfit but did not find Larry. No one had seen him when I was there so I wandered over to Old Woodward for a while.
Nine Mile with all the new Stangs was awesome but it started to come down a little too much and I had left the portable umbrella in the trunk so I took some shots and headed back up to Birmingham.
Really wish the weather had been a little better.
Then I got a call on my way back to KY on Sunday that my mother [93]had passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, so I am out the door again on Wednesday going to NE for the funeral. Bummer all the way around this year.
Well, we had a little liquid sunshine, but it was a good cruise day since the weather and economy kept the number of cars down quite a bit. I was able to run from Maple to Pontiac and then down to 9 Mile and then back up to Birmingham near Borders and the traffic was relatively easy until well after noon. I shot some pics with the camera in one hand and the umbrella in the other.
Walked over to Borders wearing my checkered flag pants outfit but did not find Larry. No one had seen him when I was there so I wandered over to Old Woodward for a while.
Nine Mile with all the new Stangs was awesome but it started to come down a little too much and I had left the portable umbrella in the trunk so I took some shots and headed back up to Birmingham.
Really wish the weather had been a little better.
Then I got a call on my way back to KY on Sunday that my mother [93]had passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, so I am out the door again on Wednesday going to NE for the funeral. Bummer all the way around this year.
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