I'm very interested to know if the street was not closed early why Mr. Eatman would provide that answer. If the street was closed early, I'd also like to know why, because that early closure affected a lot of citizens by looking at the posted SCF issues.

The Raleigh Police Department did not close the roadway at the intersection of Morgan Street at Hillsborough Street in this matter. The Magnificent Mile run organizers, after obtaining a permit through the City, were allowed to block a portion of Hillsborough Street as well as side streets in this area for the run. It appears the run organizers closed a portion of Hillsborough Street earlier than scheduled in this instance causing the CAT buses to implement a detour route sooner than expected.

Well this is getting more interesting. Let's reopen this and tell the Citizens of Raleigh what the City of Raleigh is going to do because these people took it upon themselves to close off streets early. Is this is a crime? I cannot imagine it being legal to close a street to traffic. If they had a permit, great, but if they closed a major city street and NC Highway before the permit was in effect, I cannot imagine that would be legal. So what are we going to do here Raleigh? You made it clear these people closed a street without a permit.

If true, then by what authority?

We have asked RPD to provide additional information regarding this, an update will be posted once we hear back from them.

I have read this and other complaints about citizens missing their bus. There needs to be a serious conversation with these groups, who don't get me wrong, have great programs for wonderful projects, but when that starts encroaching on the needs of the people who must use transit, that defeats the purpose. I live downtown, and have seen streets being blocked off much earlier than RPD posted would be. This should be addressed. There has to be a good balance, but these groups should not being blocking streets off earlier than they are. If David Eatman from CAT says the streets were closed when they should not have been, why did CAT not contact RPD to ensure that the rights of the citizens to use the streets were restricted, and obviously created hardships on people who rely on the bus? It seems very irresponsible for CAT to not do this if people who run races and block parties and affect their routes outside of permit times.

I don't live anywhere near the affected area, but I do have a problem with streets being closed when they are not supposed to, especially when these streets being closed are on bus routes. Why not close West Morgan Street instead of Hillsborough Street? It seems that the buses used to use Morgan Street, and now use Hillsborough St. Wouldn't it make sense to let the buses run a normal route, and use the street 1 block over for the event. This seems to make more sense, but of course I am not a government official.

TOO MANY STREET PARTIES AND ROAD RACES in RALEIGH.
The CAT management should be responsible enough to put up temporary signs to inform people of bus stop closures along routes. It is ridiculous to assume that everyone has access to the internet or smart phones. These are likely people who have the least access to smartphones - elderly citizens and handicapped who may not have consistent and accessible internet. There should be signs on signs on bus stops explaining that the stop will not be served in the event of an event.

Raleigh hasn't got the bus stops right from the sign changes last year, what makes you think they might be able to put temporary signs up for detours?

I agree with the other commentors... roads should never be closed when they're not planned to be closed (unless there's an emergency), and CAT should post temporary detour signs on all stops affected by a detour (preferably a few days before the detour, so riders have advanced notice... Charlotte does this).

The Raleigh Police Department did not close the roadway at the intersection of Morgan Street at Hillsborough Street in this matter. The Magnificent Mile run organizers, after obtaining a permit through the City, were allowed to block a portion of Hillsborough Street as well as side streets in this area for the run. It appears the run organizers closed a portion of Hillsborough Street earlier than scheduled in this instance causing the CAT buses to implement a detour route sooner than expected. This issue has been addressed with race organizers.

Is it legal to close off City of Raleigh streets earlier than allowed by a permit? If I get a permit to close a street for an event at 3pm, but closed it off at noon, would this be illegal - or would I get a pass? Just curious, it seems Raleigh is giving passes to the Downtown event organizers who are breaking the law. Yes or No, is it legal to close a street outside of the time allotted by a permit. What does the code say an individual should be charged with for doing so?

Street closures in the City of Raleigh are approved through the Raleigh City Council. At any time you determine an individual may have closed a street without prior authorization or approval, please call 911 and ask for a police officer to respond.

Are CAT operators required to call 911 to report street closures when streets are closed earlier than they should be? If a street is not supposed to be closed until 10 am but it is closed off 9 am, forcing CAT drivers to detour and leave passengers stranded, is it policy for CAT to call 911 to tell RPD streets have been closed? If so, will it be updated to require this?

That's a good point Alison... if CAT supervisor learns a street is closed early, s/he could contact the police and request the street be reopened until the designated time. Another helpful action would be for a CAT supervisor to immediately post signs at the affected stops.

So CAT, what's the answer? Do you just ignore the issue and detour or are improper street closures going to be reported to RPD. More than enough time has passed for you to provide a proper answer.

This question has been forwarded to Public Works, Transit Division for review, an update will be posted once we hear back from them.

Per Public Works, if a street closure is encountered by a Capital Area Transit (CAT) vehicle that is not announced or is an emergency closure this information is reported to CAT dispatch. CAT dispatch contacts the Department of Public Works / Transportation Operations to determine the scope and length of the closure. If it is after hours or on a weekend or holiday the Raleigh Police Department is contacted to report and or received information on the closure.

I hope this clarifies CAT’s procedure; if you need additional information please contact David Eatman at 919-996-4040 at your convenience.