Police: Speedway parking restrictions on Race Day weekend or face fines

SPEEDWAY, Ind. (WISH) — The Indianapolis 500 is now just less than one week away and parking is no longer available at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

But there are options in Speedway, and police are reminding drivers about parking restrictions or face big fines.

During the Indy 500 weekend, three-hour parking will be enforced on both sides of Main Street between 10th Street and 16th Street from Friday starting at 12 a.m. until Saturday at 11:59 p.m.

Additionally, people cannot park between 10th Street and 16th Street starting at 12 a.m. on Race Day.

Police say they will have signs posted designating which areas parking for the race is prohibited. “It’s really important that people adhere to those signs and don’t park in those locations,” said Lt. Jim Thiele with the Speedway Police Department said.

“We need to be able to have all of those streets wide open with no parked cars on either side to be able to get as much traffic away from the track on those heavily trafficked days as we possibly can. We also want to make sure we have plenty of room to get an emergency vehicle by,” Thiele said.

City officials say parking will be available at the 40-acre parking lot on 26th Street and Lynhurst, which is run by the Speedway Lions Club.

Police want to remind everyone that if they’re in violation of parking restrictions, they’ll face a $50 fine, plus towing and storage fees.

“If someone is parked on one of those streets that have restricted parking and it’s the night before the race or the morning of the race, we may not have an option other than to just call a tow truck and move that car because we need that street open,” Thiele said.

Overall, police are asking the public to be aware of where they decide to park so that everyone can have an enjoyable time.