A friend of mine is putting on a road race and needs to write a letter to the local board of selectmen asking permission to close a road for the duration of the race. Anyone have any advice or guidance?
TIA
Giles
A friend of mine is putting on a road race and needs to write a letter to the local board of selectmen asking permission to close a road for the duration of the race. Anyone have any advice or guidance?
TIA
Giles
Giles,
Be prepared to pay the cops. They see road race as a profit center. So your friend has to say that he will be willing to pay the police details. That gets the selectmen in with the police. One hand washes the other in small towns in New England.
Tom
Thanks, Tom. Like Claude Rains in Casablanca, I find myself saying: "I'm shocked!"
All the best,
Giles
Also, have insurance already set up.
I'd talk to the cops first, may sure you have all your ducks in a row, THEN go to the selectman.
The better prepared you are for the meeting, the better your chances. I would recommend having the following documents ready:
A timeline which outlines your plan for race day. When will your crew arrive on site? When will medical personnel be on site? Where will they be stationed? When do you anticipate the first competitors to reach key intersections? Anticipated progress of slowest competitors?
An emergency plan - what are the various roles of the race crew in case of emergency? What plans have you put in place for various emergencies?
Up-to-date maps of the course outlining your course/plans.
Traffic Management Plan - what will you use to block the road - water barriers? Cones? How will you detour/divert traffic? Will you give advance notice to the local community regarding the road closure? Signs/Newspaper notice?
Event summary. How many competitors expected? Financial benefit to local community? Charity? Expected future growth?
Just some ideas. It might be overkill, but you should probably have these things drafted anyway so it can't hurt to include them in your application.