Columbus, Ohio USA
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Hot Chocolate Race
Yet another Short North disaster
By Joel Knepp
January/February 2020 Issue
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The Allstate Insurance Hot Chocolate 5/15K Race held on November 17 might have been great for some, but for residents and workers of Victorian Village and Harrison West, it wasn't so hot. In fact, it was a 5-hour prison sentence. The undertaking was botched, from the inadequate Saturday notice to the race's Sunday execution.
Road Closure Notice
Residents received a mailed road closure notice the evening before the race. It consisted of a map with the tiniest printing possible and a chart of the roads being closed. A quick look at the map showed that area residents were to be surrounded by the race route. However, the chart indicated that only one side or the other or certain sections of certain streets were to be closed, giving hope that exit by car would be possible. For example, the chart listed the closure of only one side of Neil Avenue, giving folks the opportunity to take the southbound lanes out of the area- wrong. Both northbound and southbound lanes were closed off. Area residents studied the chart trying to figure out how to get out of the neighborhood, but no suggestions were given. At the top of the chart was a blurb as follows: "For alternate access routes, please visit hotchocolate15k.com/Columbus/road-closures." However, the website was only a copy of the mailed chart, with no alternate access routes whatsoever, either in or out. On Sunday morning, it became apparent that neither entrance nor exit had been planned for.Race Day
On Sunday morning the streets of Harrison West and Victorian Village teemed with frustrated drivers. Cars were lining up at multiple exit points but experiencing no relief. Folks were making u- turns right and left, driving here and there to find some way to get where they needed to go, but a variety of uniformed gatekeepers including county sheriffs, Columbus police, and state troopers had the area on lockdown. My wife and I are church musicians and needed to get to our job in Pickerington. We encountered others who had jobs to go to. We explained our need to the gatekeepers, to no avail. We asked them politely for suggestions; they had nothing to offer. After trying three different exit points at the southern, eastern, and western ends of the area, a sympathetic policewoman at 3rd and Neil allowed us to go eastward across Neil and out of the forbidden zone. By sheer luck and the officer's kindness, we made it to our church gig in the nick of time. Who knows what happened to the others with jobs to go to?What Were They Thinking?
Shame on Allstate, the race planners, and the city officials who permitted this outrage. The Hot Chocolate Race was an inexcusable imposition on the folks living within the race course. Short of a major public safety emergency, the total closure of an entire neighborhood for hours is simply unacceptable. People need to get places, both inside and outside the area of the race. Doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel live in our area. Residents can't be expected to check into hotels or move in with friends or family the night before so they can make it to their jobs during a race. Even on a Sunday morning, people need to get into our neighborhood for elder or pet care, church, and any number of other valid reasons. Two nursing homes lie within the race route. How did their morning-shift staff get to their posts before noon? How did home-health providers get to their patients’ homes? Again, who knows? Did the race planners even think about these issues?Conclusion
If race sponsors, planners, and city officials can't do any better than this, they don't deserve access to our lovely city streets for these events, which seem to multiply as the years go on. Columbus has many spacious, beautiful metro parks. Let these events be held in those parks, where hundreds of people won't be prevented from going where they need to go on Sunday mornings. Enough already with the #!*&*%# races!
Joel Knepp lives in Victorian Village with his wife Lynda McClanahan, an artist.
They performed as the musical duo Nick & Polina for many years in the area.© 2019-2020 Short North Gazette, Columbus, Ohio. All rights reserved.
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