Lakeside Avenue to be open to motorcycles only during entire event

LACONIA — Simultaneous with the start of Laconia Motorcycle Week on Saturday, June 8, Lakeside Avenue in The Weirs will be closed to four-wheel traffic, in a change from past years.

Typically, the motorcycles-only rule started after the first weekend of the annual event, but Charlie St. Clair, executive director of the Laconia Motorycle Week Association, said that, in recent years, people have been arriving earlier and that the earlier closure has been warranted for a long time.

Weather plays a large role in how big the crowds get, but since the event expanded again from a weekend to a full week’s worth of activity, the riders have been coming earlier and earlier, regardless of the weather. There was a time when the first weekend saw many fewer numbers of bikes, and allowing automobiles down Lakeside Avenue was not a problem. In recent years, traffic has been an issue, St. Clair said.

“The vendors are still setting up on Friday,” he said, “but starting Saturday, vehicles will only be allowed first thing in the morning. We want to make sure it’s motorcycle-friendly.”

Construction in the city also will be wrapped up before the start of Motorcycle Week.

“It’s a big deal,” said St. Clair. “We want to prevent confusion like there was last year, and the best way to do that is to shut down Lakeside Avenue to traffic, starting on the first weekend.

— Thomas P. Caldwell