The Duluth City Council recently authorized staff to develop a policy for handling the increased number of requests for events resulting in street closures.

Over the last few years the number of non-city sponsored requests for 5K races within the downtown area has increased.

The parks and recreation department would like to consider limiting the number of street closure events within a calendar quarter and require applicants to obtain a special event permit/rental usage agreement prior to obtaining a parade permit, as well as develop an appropriate rental fee structure.

The City Council also recommended utilizing other areas of the city such as Scott Hudgens Park, Bunten Road Park, and Rogers Bridge as well as other city roads. Factors to be considered include adequate parking, the effect on residences and/or businesses.

The city may develop a menu of different routes with pricing based on costs for safety procedures and business interruption.

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Members of the conversion crew take a break as the main scoreboard is lowered to the floor to be worked on as the arena gets ready for the next concert at State Farm Arena, Thursday, October 2, 2025, in Atlanta. The crew was working on creating a stage for the Friday, Oct. 3 Maxwell concert. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com