RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) -- Drivers will notice more than just yellow daffodils lining some Richmond streets. Orange barrels will soon be part of the landscape as well.
Four-hundred bicyclists will maneuver through some city streets in May as part of a test run for the 2015 World Road Cycling Championships bike race.
Maxwell Moore, who lives along the race route on Monument Avenue, said he will likely have to park far away because of the closures.
"That's something that you've grown to know while growing up here," Moore said. "Monument Avenue always has the races and the parades."
CBS 6 News reporter Sandra Jones mapped out the bike route, which spans from the Fan to VCU around Monroe Park to downtown Richmond near the Greater Richmond Convention center.
The race is expected to impact local businesses like Jo-Jo's Pizza on 12th and East Main.
"I think it's great for downtown," the wwner of Jo-Jo's said. "Friday's are already a busy day. So, you factor in something like that, hopefully double the business who knows."
Bike race organizers are launching a ampaign to inform the public about the 9.6 mile event.
"Our plan is to be on their TVs, in newspapers, in mailboxes. And at their civic centers and other places where people gather," said Lee Kallman with Richmond 2015
Kallman said folks can expect some heavy traffic and road closures, which is why they're getting the word out early.
"We don't want to sugar coat it. There's going to be some impact. So, they can plan accordingly," said Kallman.
Those courses for May will be the same ones used for next year's bike race. And organizers tell CBS 6, they're working with police to look for traffic hot spots and come up with a plan before and during May's event.
