Crime & Safety

Gran Fondo to Cause Parking, Road Restrictions in Rockland

Gran Fondo translates from Italian "great endurance," but riders in Sunday's Gran Fondo New York bike race will not be the only ones challenged by the event.
The professional level race follows a course into Rockland County early Sunday morning and will hit areas in Orangetown and Clarkstown all through the day, causing road closures, parking restrictions and delays. Orangetown Police Sgt. Jim Sullivan said that the race organizers have been responsive to concerns from local officials and police. 

"We haven't had any major problems with it," Sullivan said. "They have been pretty good. No major complaints or accidents. We've had bike spills, but nothing with traffic. We've asked to change things and they have been responsive."
Piermont is one of the areas that will see the most traffic from the event. The riders will come off Route 9W into Piermont at approximately 7:30 a.m., very early in the race, and be through the village by 9 a.m. They will then go up to Bear Mountain before the return trip through Clarkstown and Orangetown, hitting Piermont again as early as 10:20 a.m. and as late as 5 p.m.

"We have them all day," Piermont Police Sgt. Steve O'Leary said. "The elite guys come through in a hurry, then at the tail end, the not-so elite guys are just trying to make their way back. They also have a 50-mile loop and a 100-mile loop, so they are spread out as much as can be."

Among the restrictions in Piermont to accommodate the race:

  • No parking allowed on Piermont Ave. overnight from Saturday into Sunday.
  • Ferdon Ave. will be closed from 7:30 a.m. to approximately 9 a.m.
  • Piermont Ave. the length of the village will be restricted to one lane with alternating traffic from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.
O'Leary said he has also advised local houses of worship of the potential disruption for parishioners. 

"There will be no closures for the return trip," O'Leary said. "The difference is in the morning, they are tightly packed. By the time they get all the way up and back, they are strung out enough that we can just stop traffic intermittently at certain intersections.

Sullivan said that one lane of traffic will be closed to non-race traffic on Route 303 from Orangeburg Road to Greenbush Road and on Orangeburg Road from Western Highway to Route 303. There will also be two detours
  • Drivers will not be able to make a right turn onto Greenbush Road. They will have to go to Stephens Lane to make a right.
  • Drivers on King's Highway will be detoured onto Edwards Street.
Clarkstown released a list of streets expected to be clogged with riders on Sunday. 

Between approximately 7a.m. and 10 a.m. the following roads will be congested with cyclists:  Broadway in Upper Nyack,  Old Mountain Road in Upper Nyack  Rt. 9W in Upper Nyack, Valley Cottage and Congers.   

Between approximately 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. the following roads will be congested with cyclists: South Mountain Road in New City, Ridge Road in New City, Strawtown Road in New City, West Nyack  Road in West Nyack and Western Highway in West Nyack.  

The Orangetown Town Council voted Tuesday to approve assistance for the race by Orangetown Police, Highway and Parks Departments in the form of personnel and equipment.The Orangetown Police Department alone will have 14 officers and three supervisors working the race. The Gran Fondo organizers will reimburse the town for the costs of aiding the event.

For more information about the Gran Fondo, go to the race website at http://granfondony.com/.


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