News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Some Crossville residents unhappy with the reduction in the Crossville Cruisers event from the normal seven to four.
Crossville Cruisers member Victor Torasso said he believes there is a misconception that the city council is trying to shut the group down, but this is not the case. Crossville City Council did pass a change to its ordinances concerning the closure of Crossville streets.
“We worked with the city on that and we understand why they did it,” Torasso said. “So we’re just complying with the new city ordinance that’s out there. Most people aren’t aware that there is a new city ordinance, and it limits the number of street closures for any organization that wants to close the streets to four.”
Torasso said any disappointment from the community likely stems simply from the fact that people enjoy the Crossville Cruisers events and would rather the number of annual events not be cut down. He said there could even be a positive side of the change as people may attend in higher numbers due to fewer chances.
“The reason this whole thing was put together originally was to bring people to the city of Crossville and support the local businesses,” Torasso said. “The upside would be, the more people you get, the more people will visit the local stores and spend money.”
Toraso addressed the council at a work session this week, concerned that the council might want to make a statement concerning the changes, based on the negative feedback from some.
Events will be held on the fourth Saturday of each month from April through July, rather than spanning through September like usual. He said little to no change will be made to the events themselves due to the new ordinance.
“People come from noon to 4:00pm and park along the street and there are some vendors there,” Torasso said. “Some food vendors. It’s just a get-together of car enthusiasts and a lot of local people come to see the cars and bring their families and just enjoy themselves.”
He said he believes the city felt that there were too many organizations trying to close the street too often, and difficulty managing that caused the change. He said whether there are four events per year or seven, it is still a great chance for people to come together as a community and enjoy time with their families.
