AIBU to be fucked off at road marathons?

[JesusOnAYamaha]

Once a year in London is one thing but they're bloody everywhere now and it's not like the organisers put diversions in so you can get to where you're going. We had one in our town a couple of months ago and I couldn't leave my (no through) street because they blocked it off so people could spend a day running past it. I mean I couldn't even cross the road at the end of my street, on foot. Now I've just found out that I can't get to where I need to be for a family event later this month because another load of joggers are closing down a bunch of roads into/in this other place.

AIBU to think they could just run round a park? Or a field? Or a racecourse? Or a hill? Or somewhere where they're not in the way of residents and other people who just want to go about their business.

I know I probably am BU. It's probably nice that people get to run around if they like running. They probably enjoy spending a day running past my street and I should be happy for them. But, I am a bit fucked off with it all.

I understand a car is essential for many, but not all. I must admit i didn't realise that barriers prevent people even leaving their street on foot, that is very restrictive i agree

Almost every year an Iron Man event closes the road my very elderly mother lives on. She is 89, not very mobile, can no longer drive so has no car etc. She has several serious medical issues now too.

It does worry me a bit whether they have taken full account of very vulnerable people who may be living on these routes. If questioned, the organisers' stock response is " go and park the car round the corner and just walk to it if you need to the next day", which is completely useless to someone like my mother who can't walk more than a few shuffling steps and needs carers to come to her house several times a day. Apparently the carers too should park well away too and walk, no matter how much stuff they might need and how many vulnerable patients they need to visit on their rounds. The care company has also complained about it and got precisely nowhere.

I do hope that they would allow emergency services up the roads, but have certainly heard of cases where they too were impeded.

I find that when you query any such questions with the event organisers you are far too often met with utter incomprehension.

I think there should at the very least be a means of knowing which addresses are occupied by vulnerable people, although emergencies can occur anywhere at any time.

Absolutely events will be halted/ held up if emergency vehicles need to get through.

Indeed, why on earth wouldn't access be given to emergency services? It will be a condition of road closures. People seem to be making up random scenarios in their heads.

Not made up at all. There was a case where this happened in the town where my mother lives. Also, her care company has had issues with getting through to their clients, who are mostly very vulnerable people needing visits several times a day.

This idea that cars etc use the roads so runners can use the roads.

Roads are meant for everyone to get where they need to go. Most of the time, almost all roads are open to cars, trucks, pedestrians, bikes. No, it's not always a perfect arrangement, but the principle is that all users should be able to get around.

Even with parked up events or traffic jams for events, yes it can be a practical issue but the roadways aren't actually being closed to certain users.

With marathons, bike races, and even on occasion car races in cities, it's a totally different scenario - everyone except the actual racers are expected to give up access to public roadways. Usually with zero benefit to themselves.

It's not even like a park being used for an event, you can go to another park. There isn't a second set of public roads for most people.

Councils are not going to the residents in these areas and getting their ok. They are deciding on their behalf this is great publicity or whatever and going ahead with it.

Everyone agrees that flooding is a problem and cities try and mitigate it, not encourage it.

Jesus.

Why should she have to?

It's her house.

@Topseyt123 race marshalls refused to allow an emergency services vehicle through to attend a life threatening situation?

If that was the case the organisers of that event should never be allowed to put on event again

If you aren’t local to Old Trafford you wouldn’t know, but that one main road that the marathon route uses (and also various cycling events) is effectively the only one that goes through the area because all the back streets border onto railways, tram tracks and rivers. So there is no other route for many. And they get disruption from football, cricket and rugby matches. And yet people are still nice to you when you run past them, so it would be nice if the massive inconvenience was acknowledged, rather than telling them to suck it up or live somewhere else. These aren’t the fancy-ass parts of Trafford, people there probably can’t just move.

Near me too. A vet wasn't allowed to access a horse which was in distress because only "human" emergency services had been considered.

And care workers are on a very tight schedule. Their employers aren't going to give them an extra 20 minutes for each client if they have to park streets away.

Please show a link to your 3am to 5pm closure please?

Have you talked to the organisers/council about disabled access or did you just make this up?

Even the London Marathon are from 7am to 3pm.....

Chester, which was mentioned earlier, the longest road closure is 0830 to 1300 and pedestrian access available at all times.

@Alexandra2001 - the main road in Manchester is indeed closed for those hours. I don't live there but I've been there when events are on, and I've seen the signs.

And London starts closing roads at 2am on Marathon day on some parts of the course. And they stay closed well after 3pm. There are still 000s of runners on the course then!

Birdcage Walk is closed from Friday morning until Monday morning. I presume anyone using Birdcage walk to get around is very used to disruption.

Otherwise the roads closed at 4am are open at 1pm; 7am - 1pm or 2pm, 8am - 4pm.

There are a few closed for 12 hours - the ones right in the centre.

Manchester - yes, longer road closures. Their website seems very clear and informative. I'm sure they would be willing to work with people who inform them it takes them 5 hours to get to an appointment.

Traffic Orders specify that any road closures don't apply to them (obviously).

These extremely long closures are, I assume, only once a year in these cities (the big marathons, Great North Run).

London Marathon lists 2 roads closed at 4am, all others from 7am.

LM is once a year as is the Great North Run, these are both exceptional world famous events.

So where are all these 100s of other 1/2 marathons and bike rides that shut down our town s and cities???

...and no link to this 3am to 5pm closure....

Thing is it doesn’t matter if it’s once or twice a year. People shouldn’t be blocked in their streets for any reason bar emergencies.

They might claim there is pedestrian crossing but if you are disabled you might not be able to walk that far to the designated one, they might have over zealous marshals claiming not possible.

and I do how to wonder how many marshals again would trust an emergency being driven in their family car rather than an ambulance to actually stop the race for a few minutes to let people out.

Well publicised also depends again. I don’t follow running pages, lots of people are not on Facebook, our local paper is a shambles so barely anyone buys it. Only those on the actual shut roads get letters and the general road closure sign doesn’t tend to include a little note saying also x y z roads are closed too, so you can normally assume this road is closed tomorrow ok I’ll go down Y road instead. So if you are unlucky enough to live within the circle but not the road that’s actually closed you are still locked in and could very easily be with no notice.

What do you want people to say?
Yes, you're right - let's start a change.org petition and get all road races stopped.

Just for councils to not loop them and cut a whole area off would be the proper thing wouldn’t it.

Here you go. The main artery route through Old Trafford is closed 3am to 4:30pm. Lots of roads closed 8-8 or similar 12 hour stretches. Some closed for even longer.

As map isn't showing up great here is the link
www.manchestermarathon.co.uk/road-closure-info/

Someone mentioned Peterborough this weekend? So I went and looked. A nice big old circle there of people blocked In.

But not fully closed, dual carriage as they mention northbound and southbound closures... at differing points .... and access roads to fro the 3am closures.

These are also not residential roads either.

Again a huge event that happens once a year and raises £21m for charity.

We've just had Goose Fair in a town near near me, disgraceful that this event, 100s of years old, closes so many local roads, for the best part of 24hours.... and then there is the noise....

SHUT IT DOWN!!!!

Generally races will be a loop as runners need to get back to where they started . There are a few exceptions such as London Marathon where the runners belongings are transported from the various starting points to the finish. But most marathons would not have the budget or logistics to facilitate this system. Most of the Peterborough Road closures are between 2.5 - 5.5 h for this annual event.
As PPs have mentioned a lot of planning , risk assesment , contingency planning will go into these races. Councils and organisers will take on board complaints but they will be looking at the event and it's affect on the area as a whole. They will look at the logistics, support, revenue generated not just from the race but things like local businesses, parking etc as well as feedback from residents and participants. And I think they would always be working to get positive outcomes for all aspects. But unfortunately for a large scale race it would be impossibel to stage without some road closures.

As for the person upthread who condoned putting out tacks on the road for the cycle race. I can't believe that you think its fine to sabotage someones race and damage their bike costing them ££ . Would you think it ok to slash someones car tyres if they drove or parked in an inconvenient manner? Plus you're directing your anger in the wrong place - the cyclists didnt design the course /organise the road closures.
Additionally if an emergency vehicle /person in an emergency had to access the course youre putting them at risk too.

You don't actually live here so what would you know?
There are one or two stretches closed in just one direction, yes. The main effing route through Stretford and Gorse Hill - Chester Road - is fully closed from 3 am to 4:30 pm and yes, there are a heck of a lot of housing estates that need to use that road to get to shops etc.

The road outside mine is residential and closed 12 straight hours. It happens twice a year, April and October. One full, one half marathon. And no it's not the end of the world, but it is inconvenient. I work full time and have 2 disabled kids and Sundays is usually shopping day for the next week's food. Can't even get it delivered instead. We won't die, but I am allowed a little grumble.

Will you kindly stop making out that you know better on this than someone who lives right here?

Nobody is going to stop an ambulance getting through and if you know a carer needs access you make sure the council and the organisers are aware in advance.