The City of Morro Bay will be hosting the Ironman triathlon for the second time this May.
Many residents had questions and concerns following the city's first-ever Ironman last year. Ironman staff and the city held an informational meeting Thursday to address those concerns.
“Because [the triathlon] impacts me," said Mark Tognazzini, Dockside restaurant owner. "It impacts 65 people who work for me and I have to worry about them."
The first Ironman triathlon hosted by the city welcomed 2,000 athletes and 6,500 spectators.
Ruth Schooler says she is looking forward to watching it again this year, as the road closures did not impact her.
“Well, I didn’t personally have any problem because I live right here in town and I walk to everything so I don’t have to drive and have to park,” Schooler said.
But others were not happy about the road closures.
“For our business on the waterfront, it was a real big hit. Financially, we took a big hit," Tognazzini said. "At 1:30 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon, I had zero people in my restaurant."
Several changes have already been made including moving the triathlon to Sunday instead of Saturday so businesses can get the most out of the increase in visitors over the entire weekend.
“What we saw last year is the racers came in Friday and left Saturday and so this will probably bring the racers in on Friday, keep them Saturday and leave Sunday,” said Michael Wambolt, Visit Morro Bay Executive Director.
City officials say there will be harbor closures for the swim portion of the triathlon and once that portion is completed, it will be back open for boating. Embarcadero road closures are to be expected and there will be a single lane closure on Highway 1.
“There is a full closure by the finish which is the Embarcadero between Pacific [Street] and Beach [Street]. That’s really the only full closure,” said Chief Amy Watkins, Morro Bay Police Department.
Another area the city and Ironman staff want to improve on is more efficient clearing of roadways.
“Once that bike course is done and that last rider is in, to get those cones picked up on the off-ramps, the on-ramps and Highway 1 so that we can get those lanes moving. We didn’t see a lot of congestion on Highway 1, just people dealing with detours,” Chief Watkins said.
Since the triathlon is moved to Sunday, a new event for children, Ironkids, will be held on Saturday at Cloisters Park.
The next informational meeting on the Ironman triathlon is on Friday, April 19 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Morro Bay Community Center.
