The centre of Kirkcaldy will be subject to a series of road closures when it hosts a major cycling event next month.
Routes around the town centre, including the Esplanade and the High Street, will be closed to traffic on Tuesday May 14 when the Pearl Izumi Tour Series rolls into town.
Although access will be maintained for shoppers throughout the day, the need to install infrastructure for the evening event means that those travelling to the town centre will face disruption.
However, despite the road closures, organisers believe the event will more than make up for any inconvenience.
Phil Clarke, engineer and planner with Fife Council, said: “It’s not every day that you get the best cyclists appearing in your own backyard.
“There will be a couple of Olympians about and the series is televised as well and so the eyes of the world will be on Kirkcaldy.
“Having done the planning for the roads last year, it has been much easier this time around. One of the challenges was closing roads that have never been closed before.
“The official end of the closure is midnight but the organisers are pretty good and we’re hopeful of having everything back to normal by around 11pm.”
The pedestrian zone of High Street will be closed to disabled vehicles from 6am, with a tow-away service in operation to remove vehicles already in situ.
Similar restrictions will be in place at the Kirk Wynd and Whytehouse Avenue ends of the High Street, although access for residents will be maintained.
Deliveries for businesses will also be permitted. Tolbooth Street will be closed for the whole day, with similar restrictions in place on Hill Street, Whytescauseway and Hunter Place.
The Esplanade and Nicol Street to Port Brae routes will also be closed off, although access for residents and businesses will be available via the service road until noon.
Formerly known as the Halfords Tour Series, last year’s round in Kirkcaldy the only to be held in Scotland attracted thousands of people despite the town securing the event at short notice.
Hoping to build on that success, Bill Harvey, manager of local business development group Kirkcaldy4All, told The Courier that he is confident even more people will attend this year.
“Last year we were very much just sticking our toes in the water,” he said.
“We were only given short notice by Halfords that we had got the event but we are hopeful that this year we will attract a lot more visitors.”
A special promotional zone is to be created between Tolbooth Street and Kirk Wynd, while Mr Harvey hopes that many retailers will stay open later in a bid to show off what Kirkcaldy has to offer.
“It’s about raising the profile of Kirkcaldy,” added Mr Harvey.
“We are still the largest town in Fife and this is an opportunity to show that we are open for business.”
jowatson@thecourier.co.uk