If you live in Richmond. VA, all you've been hearing about for the past month is the bike race. The UCI bike race is expected to draw in 450,000 spectators not including the 1000 participants racing. This race is actually a really big deal. The same cyclists racing this week also participate in the biggest bike race in the world; Tour de France. It's crazy to think that our small, hipster city of Richmond will be hosting an event on such a great scale. So what are the pros and cons of a city hosting such an event? Well from a student's perception there are plenty.
1.Class
Pros: If you go to VCU, you were probably pretty excited to find out that we weren't having school for a week. Yea, that's right. No class for an entire week.
Cons: No class for a week meant that class started an entire week early, Fall break is non-existent, and an entire week spent at home. What college student actually likes being at home for more than two days?
2. Parks and Re-creation
Pros: Richmond made some maintenance repairs in the city for aesthetic reasons and it's pretty great. For one the sidewalks are finally fixed, the potholes filled in,and unnecessary trees were cut down allowing me to notice things I've never seen before.
Cons: The wrong sidewalks were fixed, not the important one's (like Shafer Street by West Grace South). The streets that I ride my bike on still nearly throw me off my bike. Also, trees were cut down, which is never good.
3. Building Bridges
Pros: In a day, Richmond managed to construct two pedestrian bridges that crossed over two of the busiest crosswalks on campus. Many students, like me, were relived to discover that we would now have 2 ways to cross the street. No more waiting an eternity for the light turn to green fearing that you'll be late for a test.
Cons:These bridges were constructed right in the middle of both of the busiest sidewalks on campus. The traffic flow was impaired and students have to wait for the light to chance while simultaneously battling 100 students trying to squeeze into the same narrow spaces. Or you can walk across the steep pedestrian bridge. Either way, you're probably going to be late for class.
4. Parking
Pros: Anyone with a car knows that the pros to parking in Richmond are nonexistent.
Cons: The parking is worse. On some of the streets, parking will not be permitted for an entire week. Streets used for the bike race will be closed off from early morning to early evening. Getting around Richmond, will be twice as hard as it usually is.
5. All Eyes on US
Pros: The attention that VCU will receive from the bike race is tremendous! Despite our successful basketball team, VCU is still not as widely known or recognized as other public universities. This bike race will be watched by over 300 million people across the world. We should expect an increase in college applications next year. This is not to mention the amount of revenue Richmond will receive from all of the incoming tourists.
Cons: While there's nothing wrong with having attention on Richmond, there's a lot of pressure on the city to live up to the hype. Also, where would we put all of these new incoming freshman and transfers? Surely not in the dorms. VCU would have to consider expanding yet again.
The bike race coming to the United States, let alone Richmond, is a tremendously big deal. The amount of attention (and money) that the UCI will bring will surely outweigh the bad in the end. However, despite the small inconveniences, Richmond welcomes the world with open arms.
