Cloquet City Council members voted unanimously Tuesday evening to approve a downtown cycling route for a criterium race to be held by Lake Superior Cycling Club (LSCC) on May 28.
Brian Fritsinger, Cloquet city administrator, said feedback obtained by the Cloquet Chamber of Commerce from businesses was largely supportive of the race. He said the city's biggest consideration would be controlling the area from a public safety perspective, with a large contingent of 250 racers, their family and friends, and spectators.
"From what I've heard, our police and fire departments would prefer the Pinehurst alternative route," Fritsinger said. "Overall, our staff is supportive and everybody is interested in what this [event] could bring to our community."
The proposed course will take cyclists on Cloquet Avenue, between 14th and Eighth streets. Turning left on Eighth Street, they would ride to Carlton Avenue, turn left again and continue on 14th Street and turn left heading back to Cloquet Avenue. These streets will be closed during the event.
The criterium is part of the LSCC Memorial Weekend Cycling Series, and is one of three races to be held in the area. The Cloquet race would start about 9 a.m. and continue until about 5 p.m. on May 28.
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The other two races in the series include the Wrenshall time trial race on Saturday, May 26, and the South Range Cycling Classic on Sunday, May 27, in Wisconsin.
The downtown route would require barricades, cones and caution tape to be provided by the city, according to Fritsinger.
The cycling club has also requested that the city sweep the route over the weekend, place 'no parking' signs, have medical staff on site and officers on the course.
There would be some costs to the city to accomodate those requests, including overtime pay because it is during Memorial Day weekend, according to Fritsinger.
Neil Nemmers, council member, asked for numbers as far as what the city would be committed to for race work, but Fritsinger said real numbers would come as a result of further meetings with the cycling club and city staff.
"I believe we can minimize overtime costs," he said.
Tone Coughlin, LSCC president, answered questions at the meeting and told council members that the downtown route is ideal for a criterium race.
"We need close to a one-mile course and the way it is now, it's perfect," he said.
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Coughlin, who coaches the Cloquet High School girls swim team, said he has already recruited volunteers for the event.
"With my swimmers, we will have plenty of volunteers," he said.
The club will also send letters to each property affected by the race to not only inform them of the race, but to identify procedures for gaining access or leaving during the races.
The club also carries insurance that will cover the racers, volunteers, land owners, sponsors and the city of Cloquet, according to the proposal.
"We want to make [the race] as community friendly as possible because we want to come back and do this annually," Coughlin said. "We are pushing for community support."
