Middletown, CT, USA
(January 12, 2019) — The city’s Middletown Motorcycle Mania, which for
13 years drew up to 12,000 people to the historic downtown and restaurant row,
enjoyed its last year in 2018.
A half-mile of Main Street, from Washington Street/Route 66 to Union Street, including the South Green, are usually closed off for the four-hour event once a year, usually held on a Wednesday.
“(It) has grown so large that the cost of providing security
has grown to an unsustainable level,” Mayor Dan Drew said in a Facebook post
Friday morning.
Within seven hours, his post garnered nearly 280 comments.
“It was a very, very tough decision,” Middlesex County
Chamber of Commerce President Larry McHugh said. “It just got so big. We felt
it was best to drop an event of this magnitude.”
For the first couple of years, Motorcycle Mania drew between
400 and 500 bikers and between 1,000 and 1,500 spectators. By the third year,
numbers had doubled, McHugh said. Last year, the event saw about 12,000 people
in attendance, he said.
So many people traveling through the city’s downtown
corridor during rush hour overwhelmed city resources, officials said.
“It’s difficult. Once that happens, it’s a different ball
game,” McHugh said. “I feel bad for the restaurants. It was done primarily for
them during the summer.”
Touted as “the largest one-day summer motorcycle event in
New England,” the event featured custom and vintage motorcycles, and was held
in memory of Dan M. Hunter, one of the event’s founding sponsors, who was
killed in a motorcycle accident.
Motorcycle Mania benefited city youth
programs, with proceeds supporting the Hal Kaplan Middletown Mentor Program,
Middletown Recreation and Community Services Department Youth Programs and the
Middletown Summer Youth Employment Program.
City and business officials and other stakeholders will be
meeting soon to come up with a replacement event, said McHugh, who added “we
have two or three options” which could take place in the summer at about the
same time.
Coordinating police, fire, public works and other services —
and the costs of safety measures — became unwieldy by the final years, Drew
said.
“To run a big event, we have to have a lot of security,”
McHugh said. “It’s very, very important because of the environment we’re all
living in today. The bottom line is, pulling 12,000 people downtown, we want to
make sure people feel safe.”
Over the course of its existence, very few problems arose,
McHugh said, save for a “few minor, minor, minor things.”
By the end of August, stakeholders decided it was time to go
out on a high note. The final decision was made Dec. 31, McHugh said.
Annual sponsors included Hunter’s Ambulance, Hunter
Limousines, the Hunter family and Haymond Law Office. Numerous awards were
given out for best vintage American, British, European and Japanese bikes and
mayor’s choice.
“It’s a huge event in a small space with specific security
considerations,” Drew said.
A few years ago, the city had SWAT team members in full gear
posted at the event, which elicited criticism, the mayor added.
“Now people are saying to pay whatever it takes for
security,” he said. “No one is ever happy with decisions like this, but instead
of thinking solely about how you feel, think about the reality of the city’s
responsibility to keep all participants safe, and what that means in practical
terms. It’s not a fun decision but, believe me, it’s the right one.”
Kathy Chirsky of Middletown said couldn’t believe the news
when she heard of the cancellation.
“It’s a shame. More motorcycle clubs help Toys for Tots,
cancer research, Alzheimer’s research and diabetes causes — sad to see it
go,”said Chirsky. “People from all walks of life went: kids, doctors, lawyers,
accountants, physician’s assistants, men, women, old and young.”
Chirsky looked forward to the family friendly event every
year, she said.
“It’s a positive thing,” said Chirsky, who would bring her
grandchildren downtown to ogle at the bikes, paint jobs and other things, as
well as enjoy food truck fare and live bands. She was especially happy to see
female bikers — including grandmothers: “Why take it away?”
She fears the negative connotation some members of the
public have toward bikers, often portrayed on film, may have been a factor.
“You never know, (a biker) could be saving your life the
next day or (helping out) when your kid falls down the stairs and needs
stitches,” Chirsky said.
She said she would like to see the event relocated.
“Maybe it’s not suited for Main Street,” she said. “Put it in
a field, where there’s more land. I don’t see any trouble. They all get along,
they’re all laughing, having a good time. If you can’t have things like this to
keep people in Connecticut, they’re pushing people out.”
Last week, another staple for motorcyclists in the region
closed its doors: the Red Dog Saloon in Middlefield. It had been open since
1981 on Route 66.
