Downtown streets, Libertyville Road to close for RAGBRAI

Fairfield residents are being asked to keep their driving to a minimum on July 25.

Many roads in town will be clogged with the 10,000 cyclists who will visit the city on the fifth day of the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. A few roads in downtown Fairfield will be closed to traffic beginning at 3 p.m. Wednesday until just before dawn Friday when clean up is complete. This is because the downtown will host food and merchandise vendors, two concert stages, roving entertainment and a beverage garden.

Streets closing at 3 p.m. Wednesday:

' Main and Court streets, from Burlington to Briggs

' Broadway from Second to B streets

' Briggs Avenue from Main to Court streets

Furthermore, Burlington Avenue between Main and Court streets will be closed starting at 5 p.m. Wednesday until Friday morning. Fairfield Streets Superintendent Darrel Bisgard said Burlington is closing because the city has run an electric cord for vendors setting up on the street.

Bisgard said this street closing schedule is similar to what Fairfield did in 2013, the last time it hosted RAGBRAI.

'The problem last time was that we didn't close Briggs soon enough, and some tenants were still parked there,” he said.

All vehicles must be out of these areas mentioned by the designated times, or they will be towed at the owner's expense.

Fairfield Police Lt. Julie Kinsella said the police had to tow four or five cars in 2013 because they didn't move in time. She's hoping to avoid that this year by giving downtown residents ample warning of the street closures.

In the three days leading up to the closure, starting this Sunday, police officers will put flyers on cars parked downtown letting them know they must move by 3 p.m. Wednesday. She said this deadline is important because it takes time to set up the concert stage and portable toilets. Kinsella said the police will do all they can to make contact with vehicle owners, but if their cars are still on the closed streets by 7 p.m. Wednesday, they will be towed.

'We can't have semis coming in with merchandise trying to back around cars. We can't work around parked cars,” Kinsella said.

Kinsella said that the streets will open by about 4:30 a.m. that Friday, though the portable toilets might still be occupying some parking spots.

County roads

Jefferson County Sheriff Gregg Morton announced that Libertyville Road from Libertyville to Key Boulevard on the southwest edge of Fairfield will be closed from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 25. Only local traffic will be allowed on this road during those hours. Local traffic is defined as those who live or are staying with residents along the closed road.

Morton reminds residents that the cyclists will travel on Douds Road from Highway 16 to Libertyville.

'There will be thousands of bicyclists on this narrow roadway that has very little shoulder,” he said. 'Some riders will be arriving as early as 5:00 a.m. If at all possible, please use a different route that day to get to your destination.”

Directing traffic

Kinsella said every officer in the department will work a 12-hour shift that day, regardless of whether it is normally their day off. In fact, the city is bringing in extra officers for both the day and night shifts. The police will help direct traffic on major intersections, particularly those on the southwest part of town where the riders will enter.

Friday morning will be every bit as busy as Thursday when the riders leave town. They will be directed to take Madison Avenue to Glasgow Road, and from there to the towns of Stockport (via Stockport Road) and Salem before ending the day in Burlington. Kinsella and Morton said motorists are strongly encouraged to find alternate routes that do not use those roads Friday morning.

Though the Fairfield City Council has temporarily modified its code of ordinances to allow for outdoor alcohol consumption during RAGBRAI's visit, the police will enforce other laws pertaining to alcohol. For instance, people cannot take beer purchased at the beverage garden into another establishment, nor can someone who purchases beer in an establishment leave its grounds with the alcohol.

'We can't let the alcohol walk out the door,” Kinsella said.

Those who wish to purchase alcoholic drinks in the beer garden must present a form of identification proving they are 21 years of age, and then they will receive a wrist band.