How will Brookside/Waldo residents maneuver around marathon race runners on Saturday Oct 17? It will be very difficult. The race begins downtown, and traffic will be pretty much stopped from 47th St on the Plaza through 75th Street from 8am through 2pm.  Here is some information you should know to plan ahead:

*Police will slowly open up the streets to traffic once the last runners pass through a particular area. For example, as runners leave the downtown/midtown area heading towards Plaza/Brookside/Waldo, those streets will open to traffic. Most of our area will close off at 8am and not open up until after 1pm.

*If you live east of Brookside Boulevard, get to Oak or Troost to travel south. (If you go north, you won’t make it past UMKC until after 1:30 or 2pm).  DO NOT try to drive west, you will not be able to cross Brookside Blvd or Wornall or Ward Parkway. You CAN use 71 highway to go north.

*If you want to get to Kansas, take Main St south of 61st St (or Oak /Troost)  all the way to 79th or 85th and then go west.  Expect heavier traffic on these east/west routes, and along State Line Road.

*Residents who live between Ward Parkway and Brookside Blvd/Wornall Road will find it very difficult to maneuver outside of these street boundaries between 8am-1:00pm.  Within this loop, police will be at the larger intersections directing traffic.

*Race organizers have done a great job of notifying businesses and residents in the affected areas of the route through a direct mail postcard—hopefully you saved it for reference! Detailed information on road closures is indicated on the card.

Race organizers tell me the police will let traffic cross the course IF there is a safe distance between runners. Over 10,000 participants total are expected. For the full marathon that runs through Brookside/Waldo, there are 1500 runners. There will be some breaks for backed up traffic to drive through—police will make the call.  You can find a detailed map of the route at www.sportkc.org/marathon/race-information.

Your best bet is to sleep in, have breakfast at home, and leave the car in the drive until after 2pm. Of course you can also bike or walk to shops and services, or come out to cheer on the runners!