The City Council began Tuesday night to rewrite the city's process for approving road races and possibly all major events that use city streets and properties.

The Subcommittee on Public Health, Safety and the Environment and the Committee of the Whole voted to authorize Doug Bollen, the director of parks and recreation and community service, to be the primary gatekeeper for approving all road races. The councilors, who will likely ratify the subcommittee's vote on Thursday, instructed Bollen to analyze each proposed race, meet with the Salem Police Department and check all other events in the city before he makes a recommendation to the Council.

The Council must approve each race because the organizers use city streets and close intersections for the race.

Ward 1 Councilor Robert McCarthy, who said he is not “anti road races,” brought the issue to the Council because of growing complaints from residents that they were being inconvenienced by the road races, which can block traffic on weekends.

Bollen said the number of road races has doubled in the “runner-friendly city” from nine races three years ago to 18 this year. About 9,000 runners entered Salem races last year, he said.

Fewer Races in Neighboring Cities

By comparison, neighboring towns do not have nearly as many races. Beverly has the next closest with 10, including three 5-kilometer races in October. Danvers and Lynn each have five races a year, Swampscott four races and Peabody and Marblehead have three each.

“This is not a bad problem to have,” said Ward 4 Councilor Jerry Ryan, who ran in two races himself last year. “Running is good.”

Bollen said he has seen this problem coming for years. Every couple of weeks he said he gets someone asking to start a new race. “Salem is a great city to run in,” he said.

Under the current rules, Bollen could only pass along the request to start or renew a race to the Police Department and ultimately to the City Council.

Now the Council is giving him the authority to recommend against staging a race because it would have an adverse impact on the city or conflict with other events.

Several race organizers praised the council for refining the approval process.

“The management calendar will be the greatest management tool,” said Sharon Hunter of Beverly, who helps manage the Miles Over the Moon race by the Wicked Running Club in July.

Some of the complaints have come from the Willows neighborhood, where many of the races are staged. But McCarthy said the changes in the approval process are needed for the whole city. “This is not one neighborhood against another,” he said.

During many of the races, Memorial Drive and the intersection of Essex and Webb streets are blocked or congested during the races.

Several councilors said it is not just the growth of road races that impact the neighborhoods. The city needs to look at walks, festivals and other events that draw crowds into areas of the city.

The subcommittee used the new process to approve two races Tuesday – the Tavern on the Square race on April 22 and the Wicked Running Club's Miles Over the Moon on July 13. The Council will vote formally on those races on Thursday.

Ward 7 Councilor Joseph O'Keefe, who said he once ran a seven-minute mile in a race to Marblehead and back, requested that the Tavern on the Square race be moved to 9 a.m. from 10 a.m. so it would not block anyone trying to go to church. The race organizers agreed to the change.