Organization update #3 - the Permit
0 Comments Published by noel. on Friday, May 9, 2008 at 9:06 AM.
As a first-time race promoter it's been a bit overwhelming when looking at all the tasks that have to be completed in order for the race to be a "go". As mentioned previously, the first hurdle is getting insurance lined up. Thankfully this is a pretty simple process, and it's quick too. It's all taken care of, so hurdle #1 is dealt with.
Getting the insurance in place is critical as it's a requirement before the City will even consider giving you a special event roads permit. And that permit is beyond critical, as quite simply it all boils down to "no permit, no race".
Road Permit:
I'm happy to report that it looks like the permit has now gone thru most of the City's internal processes/sign-offs. In the end I had a bit of back and forth with the Calgary Police Service's traffic boss as we discussed what the requirements would be from their perspective for a safe race course. It's a bit nerve-wracking dealing with this stuff, as you can almost hear the cash-register in the back of your mind as the Sergeant adds more cars/constables to the list, but I quickly realised that he was truly interested in a safe race course. At no point did I think he was trying to rack up OT for CPS members. In fact, I really got the impression that he was acting as a partner, and that he was trying his best to make things affordable for me.
At any rate, it looks like we've come to an agreement on policing requirements for the race that is super reasonable. We also agreed to slightly novel arrangement for police services. I'll talk about it more, but I'm going to wait until I have the permit in my hands with all sign-off's in place!
All in all, I've been really happy with how the City has been working with me and helping to make sure that this race goes off safely. I've heard a lot of horror stories, but my experience to this point has been that if you go there in with a positive attitude and are willing to listen to what they have to say, you're going to sail thru the process. These people have TONS of experience dealing with different events taking place on City roads. Treating them as resources/partners instead of regulatory hurdles is a smart move.
Getting the insurance in place is critical as it's a requirement before the City will even consider giving you a special event roads permit. And that permit is beyond critical, as quite simply it all boils down to "no permit, no race".
Road Permit:
I'm happy to report that it looks like the permit has now gone thru most of the City's internal processes/sign-offs. In the end I had a bit of back and forth with the Calgary Police Service's traffic boss as we discussed what the requirements would be from their perspective for a safe race course. It's a bit nerve-wracking dealing with this stuff, as you can almost hear the cash-register in the back of your mind as the Sergeant adds more cars/constables to the list, but I quickly realised that he was truly interested in a safe race course. At no point did I think he was trying to rack up OT for CPS members. In fact, I really got the impression that he was acting as a partner, and that he was trying his best to make things affordable for me.
At any rate, it looks like we've come to an agreement on policing requirements for the race that is super reasonable. We also agreed to slightly novel arrangement for police services. I'll talk about it more, but I'm going to wait until I have the permit in my hands with all sign-off's in place!
All in all, I've been really happy with how the City has been working with me and helping to make sure that this race goes off safely. I've heard a lot of horror stories, but my experience to this point has been that if you go there in with a positive attitude and are willing to listen to what they have to say, you're going to sail thru the process. These people have TONS of experience dealing with different events taking place on City roads. Treating them as resources/partners instead of regulatory hurdles is a smart move.
Labels: Organization, Permits
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