Expecting a crowd of more than 5,000 to descend on the city Saturday for the first Yuengling Light Lager Jogger 5K, the city police and street department have worked up a traffic and parking plan, police Capt. Steve Durkin said Thursday.
"This is a new challenge for us," Durkin said.
"It will definitely test us on how well we handle crowds. And we're trying to be as prepared as we can be. We haven't experienced anything like this before. I hope all the planning pays off," City Administrator Thomas A. Palamar said Thursday.
City workers lugged out 85 orange wooden horses Thursday and Durkin tied 100 yellow signs to utility poles along the race route, informing residents of when to move their vehicles out of the area.
CK Running LLC, Philadelphia, the firm organizing the race, sold out the 2,500 registrations Jan. 15. The race will start at 8 a.m. Saturday, according to the official website for the event, www.lagerjogger.com.
Setup
"There's 85 wooden horses being staged today. That's what the street workers are doing now. They have a truckload of them and they're going around and dropping them off," Durkin said at 11:30 a.m. Thursday.
City street workers put them on sidewalks near intersections Thursday in preparation for Saturday's race.
Today, there will be a flurry of activity near the D.G. Yuengling & Son Inc. brewery at Mahantongo and Fifth streets, as vendors move in to set up for the "block party" Saturday morning, Durkin said.
There will be no parking in the "block party area," on Mahantongo Street from Third to Seventh streets, today, Durkin said.
"Traffic will be able to pass through that area until 4 a.m. Saturday," Durkin said.
At that point, there will be no parking along the entire race route until 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Durkin said.
Durkin tied 100 yellow parking signs to utility poles along the parade route Thursday afternoon, in an effort to make sure residents were aware of that information.
"Remember, no traffic will be allowed on the race course during the race," Durkin said.
If vehicles are parked on the race route from 4 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, they could be ticketed.
"With tickets, there's a $25 fine," Durkin said.
Some may even be towed, he said.
"The bottom line is if something is a hazard to the runners, it will be removed. There are many reasons for towing a vehicle but on Saturday, that's the one we'll be concentrating on. If a parked vehicle is in the way, it will be towed. The owners of those vehicles will be billed for the towing charges," Durkin said.
Durkin said 10 of the city's 23 full-time police officers will be working during the race. Plus, volunteer fire police from the city and surrounding communities will be in the city to help secure the route, he said.
Race route
The race starts at 8 a.m. Saturday at Seventh and Mahantongo streets. Runners will go west on an uphill climb to 19th Street.
The race will continue north on 19th Street, west on West Norwegian Street, then south on 22nd.
The runners will then turn east on Mahantongo, then south on 20th, another hill.
The runners will turn east on Howard Avenue, north on 10th Street, then east on Mahantongo and end up back where the race started.
There will be a post-race block party outside the brewery with vendors and live music, Durkin said.
Open container
Beer will be served in the block party area, on Mahantongo Street between Third to Seventh streets, Durkin said.
"People will be allowed to drink beer in the block party area. But if they leave the block party area with open containers of beer, they will be violating the city's open container law and they will be cited," Durkin said.
Durkin said the block party will end about 11 a.m.