{"id":17025,"date":"2013-01-09T09:38:42","date_gmt":"2013-01-09T14:38:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.raleighpublicrecord.org\/?p=17025"},"modified":"2013-01-09T09:38:42","modified_gmt":"2013-01-09T14:38:42","slug":"road-race-closures-to-get-a-closer-look","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/news\/city-council\/2013\/01\/09\/road-race-closures-to-get-a-closer-look\/","title":{"rendered":"Road Race Closures to Get A Closer Look"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The city of Raleigh may get a new set of policies for events that involve the use of public streets.<\/p>\n<p>The issue arose in December when Raleigh City Council approved the city\u2019s first national marathon, the Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll Marathon Series, first to take place in April 2014 and then annually through 2018. The music-themed race, which took place in 34 cities in 2012, would displace one of the city\u2019s largest charitable runs, the RunRaleigh Half-Marathon and 5K.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5449\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignright\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-5449\" alt=\"A road race last year through Oakwood. Photo by Karen Tam. \" src=\"http:\/\/www.raleighpublicrecord.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/roadrace3-300x181.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"181\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Karen Tam <\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">A road race last year through Oakwood. Photo by Karen Tam.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The news set off members of the local road racing community\u2014they want first dibs on dates in their own city\u2014 and prompted City Council members to study the way events are approved, tracked and managed.<\/p>\n<p>Turns out, a record number of road running events are already in the works for 2013\u201482 of them, to be exact. Other road closures will happen for parades and street festivals throughout the year. Ten additional running events have also been proposed, but not yet approved by city police.<\/p>\n<p>The discussion hit Council\u2019s Law and Public Safety Committee Tuesday afternoon, and will resume in early February, when city officers propose a specific set of policies.<\/p>\n<p>They could include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A limit on the number and\/or nature of events in high-traffic areas, such as Hillsborough Street, downtown and on the greenways. Some residents have complained that the frequency of weekend events affects their ability to recreate freely. Others can\u2019t leave their neighborhoods, even by bus, due to road closures.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cI hear about economic impact of these events. But as a citizen who is being inconvenienced, I have nothing to offer except a plea for relief and access to where I live,\u201d said Brenda Jeffries, who lives in a seniors community one block from Hillsborough Street.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Limited application periods each year, similar to methods used by the Raleigh Parks and Recreation Department to track and manage use of its facilities and greenways. A new application would clearly state the expectations of event organizers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Minimal fees based on the size of the event, to help cover city staff and police planning time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Oversight by a new or existing city authority, rather than city police.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>A system of grading the performance of the event and its organizers, to help the city decide which events to approve in the future.\u00a0 Also, a years-long contract option, similar to the Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll marathon deal, for the most successful local events.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cIf I was able to secure that for my races, that\u2019d allow me to invest more capital into my business, advertise outside the community and attract more runners here,\u201d said John Kane, owner of the Midtown Race Series, which will be displaced this June by the inaugural Ironman race.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Better notification methods for events that require road closures. These could include a mobile messaging tool offered by SeeClickFix (currently used for reporting potholes, graffiti and street light outages), and a new city events website with a detailed calendar and road closure information.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Priority for events organized or sponsored by the city. City Council would reserve the right to declare some events, such as the Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll marathon, economic development events with rights over smaller activities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cOne of the benefits is the national exposure you get, and you can\u2019t buy that,\u201d said Councilwoman and Committee Chair Mary-Ann Baldwin.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Consideration of alternate venues, such as certified 5K courses on city parkland. The Dorothea Dix property could be a prime candidate as it awaits redevelopment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Baldwin pledged to the running community to account for their concerns as the final rules are drafted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe do have a challenge here,\u201d she said. \u201cWe want to encourage races because they are good for the economy, good for recreation and good for Raleigh.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>What&#8217;s Next<\/strong><br \/>\nThe committee will take up the issue again Feb.\u00a0 5.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A council committee will look at the road race policy following a record number of road races and closures on schedule, including a new marathon. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24062,"featured_media":5449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,15,23],"tags":[1125,1124],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17025"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24062"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17025"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17025\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}