Charlotte prepares for high traffic during Speed Street

Uptown roads will begin closing Wednesday morning for Speed Street, creating headaches for commuters and visitors through Saturday.

At 9:30 a.m., the following streets close: Tryon Street, from Stonewall to Trade streets; and parts of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Brevard Street. Beginning Thursday morning, the closings expand to include MLK Jr. Boulevard, Third Street and Fourth Street near Tryon. The Circle K and Kangaroo Speed Street presented by Coca-Cola runs Thursday to Saturday.

“Don’t expect to go anywhere quickly,” Deputy Chief of Police Jeff Estes said.

To ease traffic, Lynx trains will run every 10 minutes from 3:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. on Thursday and Friday and from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. Saturday. That’s up from every 20 minutes during off-peak times.

Some bus routes will be affected by street closures. Check ridetransit.org for details.

Estes said extra police officers would be present on foot and on bicycles and motorcycles. He encouraged festival attendees to report any suspicious sightings in the crowd.

“If you get that kind of sixth sense in your belly, then make sure you say something,” he said.

City Manager Ron Carlee has declared Speed Street an “extraordinary event,” a designation that gives police increased powers and bans some items, such as hammers, from the area.

“In the context of hundreds of thousands of people, tens of thousands of people, it may be necessary for us to stop and just question them about the item that they’re carrying,” Estes said.

Deputy Chief Robert Kinniburgh of the Charlotte Fire Department said fire department inspectors will sweep the festival each morning to check tents and temporary venues. Fire department staffers will handle medical issues and monitor safety risks during Speed Street.

In case of severe weather, festival attendees can be evacuated to shelter points on South Tryon Street and in the NASCAR Hall of Fame parking deck until the storm passes, Kinniburgh said.

This story was originally published May 19, 2015 at 4:37 PM with the headline "Charlotte prepares for high traffic during Speed Street."