Richmond schools will close for final Friday of bike races, will let out two hours early Thursday

By NED OLIVER (from the Richmond Times-Dispatch website)

Richmond Public Schools is canceling classes on Sept. 25 and closing schools two hours early on Sept. 24 — a last-minute nod to the UCI Road World Championships and the havoc the event is expected to wreak on traffic in Richmond.

“With the new information we got — it’s just getting too hairy and messy. Even today getting here was a challenge,” Superintendent Dana T. Bedden said Tuesday, referencing work that closed parts of Broad Street downtown.

Last month, Hanover and Henrico counties finalized schedule changes related to the bike races, canceling classes for a day earlier in the week when a race winds from Doswell to downtown Richmond. The Richmond School Board approved its own schedule change in a vote Tuesday night. Bedden said the district delayed taking action because staff members wanted to wait until more race details were finalized.

In response to concerns from board members, Bedden said he would look into whether the district can modify or shorten bell schedules earlier in the week without running afoul of the state Department of Education.

Tommy Kranz, the district’s assistant superintendent for operations, said the race schedule will affect schools every day during the week of the bike race, but as crowds build throughout the week, the district expects things to get more difficult.

Sept. 25, a Friday, includes two races: the Women’s Junior Road Circuit from 10 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. and the Men’s Under 23 Road Circuit from 12:45 p.m. to 4:50 p.m.

The events will close roads throughout the city. The route cuts from the East End and Shockoe Bottom through downtown and along Monument Avenue in the Fan District.

“Every school that’s north of the river will be impacted,” Kranz said.

Race organizers have said they expect 450,000 spectators throughout the event, though they’ve stressed that crowds will ebb and flow, with the largest crowds turning out toward the end of the event, which runs Sept. 19 through 27.

The organizers have said that races are timed to reduce any impact on rush-hour traffic and allow downtown to more or less stay open for business. Hanover and Henrico last month set aside Sept. 23, which is a Wednesday, as a holiday.

The Men’s Elite Time Trial is scheduled to take place that day from 1 to 3:35 p.m. Cyclists will travel from Kings Dominion in Doswell down U.S. 301 and U.S. 1 across parts of Caroline, Hanover and Henrico counties and ending in downtown Richmond.

“The (Henrico School) Board made the move because of the threat of traffic complications,” according to a news release.

Hanover students will give up their Columbus Day holiday, originally scheduled for Oct. 12, as a makeup day, said county schools spokesman Chris R. Whitley. Students and teachers will be off.

Chesterfield elected not to participate in the races, and no holidays are scheduled during the event.

Virginia Commonwealth University has canceled classes for the duration of the races but will otherwise remain open. The school said it has lined up activities on and off campus to keep students occupied.