Prologue going as planned; anticipate driving detours
It's still on.
No significant changes were announced this week in plans for the Prologue time trial bike race that will feature Westside streets Monday, Aug. 22. Featuring 17 international teams with 136 riders - each leaving the starting line a minute or two minutes apart - the event is scheduled to kick off at 1:15 p.m. and last about three hours in all. People are free to watch from almost anywhere along the 5.2-mile course that goes from the Garden of the Gods south on Ridge Road, left on Pikes Peak Avenue, right on 30th Street, left on Colorado Avenue and straight on to the finish line downtown at Cascade Avenue. Including the three top finishers in this year's Tour de France, the Prologue is the first leg of the first-time, seven-day USA Pro Cycling Challenge bike race that will conclude Aug. 28 in Denver. Some late news: During this period, no one will be allowed to cross the race course, except for official emergencies or escorted schoolchildren (at 17th Street). Also, no Westside north-south streets east of Ridge Road (other than I-25) will carry through traffic during the race. Streetsweepers will clean the race course during the “wee hours” of Sunday, Aug. 21, Shafer said (thus getting done before the Good times Car Show in Old Colorado City from 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.). During the race, access to the neighborhood north of Pikes Peak Avenue between Ridge and 31st will be through the alley between Kiowa Street and Pikes Peak Avenue. For cars parked on Colorado Avenue, the no-parking rule along the course route will take effect at 11 a.m. “Towing starts at 11:02 AM and will be done in sectors,” Shafer said. “That is a nice way of saying, 'Don't think that parking until 11:30 at Limit Street works because they will be busy at 31st!' It will be done with several teams. We want people to be aware to avoid any other disturbances.” Shafer added that “emergency services will of course be present and available regardless if residents can cross the street or not.” Westside Pioneer article |