The starting pistol for an annual professional cycling race through downtown Port Coquitlam will fire later this summer.
This week, PoCo city council voted to begin the PoCo Grand Prix — one of eight competitions in the BC Superweek series — 30 minutes later than the inaugural event last July.
The slight time shift comes at the request of downtown merchants, who told the city and the Downtown PoCo Business Improvement Association (BIA) afterward how their customers and staff were impacted by the race that drew more than 5,000 spectators to the core.
Glenn Mitzel, PoCo's area recreation manager, outlined to council Tuesday how this year's race will better accommodate retailers and office workers with the half-hour delay — and thereby keep streets open longer on Friday, July 14. For example:
• McAllister Avenue will be closed starting at 10 a.m.;
• Shaughnessy Street, from Elgin to Whyte streets, will shut down at 11 a.m. (council asked staff to look at possibly keeping traffic open at the north end of Shaughnessy so commuters can turn right onto Elgin, to access Maple Street);
• and roving road closures for the entire downtown course will also start at 11 a.m., with the full closure beginning at 1 p.m. to allow the CAT 3/4 women's race to begin at 1:30 p.m.
As a result of the modifications, the awards ceremony will be held at 9:30 p.m.
Mitzel also vowed there will be more communication with business people prior to the race — including hand-delivered letters and BIA notifications — and additional signage to show where people can't park; any vehicles stopped along the race route will be towed to a central location, he said.
Coun. Darrell Penner, chair of the city's healthy community committee, called last year's PoCo Grand Prix "absolutely spectacular… but not without its pitfalls" and he hopes the changes will allow retailers to get their morning work done with minimal interruption.
According to a city report, some retailers had suggested the PoCo Grand Prix start on a weekend day to avoid disruptions; others also sought to keep Shaughnessy open north of McAllister, which would alter the course.
Mitzel said another workshop with downtown retailers will be held in May or June, with property owners from other BC Superweek communities talking about their experiences and how they promote their businesses on event day.
(The BC Superweek series consists of the Tour de Delta, Global Relay Gastown Grand Prix, Giro di Burnaby, Tour de White Rock and PoCo Grand Prix, a replacement of the UBC Grand Prix).
This year's PoCo Grand Prix is budgeted at a net cost of $77,000 and "it is anticipated that budgeted sponsorship revenue targets of $126,000 will be achieved," according to a city staff report, noting all 2016 sponsors are returning.
• To become a sponsor, call Graham Danziger at 604-927-5218 or email [email protected]. And to volunteer, Tri-City residents can call Rob Loxterkamp at 604-927-7953 or email [email protected]. A form can be downloaded at pocograndprix.ca/volunteer.
