RICHLAND, Wash. – The first-ever Tri-Cities IRONMAN race brought thousands of people to the area, however still gained some criticisms from citizens upset with traffic.
The IRONMAN Triathlon, which took place in Richland on the weekend of Sept. 21 and 22, saw roughly 2,000 competitors and even more supporters.
However, some residents took to social media to voice their frustrations regarding traffic and wait times, blaming the city for the inconvenience.
Chris Waite, the Parks and Public Facilities Director for the City of Richland, said that the event was planned meticulously.
“As part of putting on a special event, there’s a requirement that the host agency comes up with a traffic control plan, and then that’s submitted to the jurisdictions for review. Based on that plan, we provided staffing and key locations that were required and identified by the traffic control plan,” Waite said.
According to Waite, nearly 4,000 traffic cones were used during the race. The City of Richland coordinated closely with Ironman organizers, the Washington State Patrol and the City of West Richland to ensure a smooth operation.
Despite the complaints, Kevin Lewis, the CEO and President of Visit Tri-Cities, regarded the event as a success.
“You don’t do significant things without having a little bit of sacrifice… but the good that happened from this event far outweighs any negatives,” said Lewis.
The IRONMAN triathlon is set to return to the Tri-Cities in 2025. Government officials are already working on a plan to improve the event for local residents and workers.
“Whenever we hold a large event like this, we have a pretty robust evaluation process and then we will do that same process… to make next year’s event better,” Waite added.
