Mountain Road

Summary

A request was made for Mountain Road closure data over the past 24 months, to which the Department of Infrastructure responded with a partial list of closures they recorded, noting that emergency closures by the Police were not held.

Key Facts

• The Department of Infrastructure does not hold records of emergency road closures managed by the Police.
• The response covers the period from August 2016 to August 2018.
• Major events causing closures include the TT Road Races, Festival of Motorcycling, and various cycling events.
• Exact closure days for major racing events were not recorded in the provided appendices.
• The authority suggested submitting a separate FOI request to the IOM Constabulary for police-enforced closures.

Data Disclosed

• 24 months
• August 2016
• August 2018
• 31 recorded closure instances
• 2018-08-13
• 2018-08-20
• 570634

Exemptions Cited

• Information not held by the authority

Original Request

How many times has the Mountain Road been shut in the past 24 months and for what reasons on each occasion was it closed for?

Data Tables (2)

Full Response Text

APPENDIX 1

A18 Mountain Road Closures - Aug 2016 to date (15.08.18) No Reason Date Closure Period

2016

1 Festival of Motorcycling (“FOM”) Road Races
20 August – 3 September 2016 Appendix 1 - no record of exact closure days during this period 2 Rally IOM Road Races 17 September 2016 2.45pm – 7.45pm 3 TT Course Race Furniture Removal Work 22 September 2016 9.30am – 4.30am 4 PokerStars Rally Road Races 11 November 2016 7.30pm – 12.00am

No record of Emergency Closures for 2016

2017

5 Electronic Sign Maintenance
1 March 2017 9.15am – 4.30pm 6 Emergency - Overhead Cable Repair Work for MER 13 March 2018 All Day 7 Highway Resurfacing Work 8 April – 23 April 2017 Duration 8 Classic Cars Sprint and Hill Climbs Road Races 29 April 2017 9.00am – 6.00pm 9 Cyclefest
13 May 2017 9.30am – 12.00pm 10 TT Road Races 26 May – 12 June 2017 Appendix 2 - no record of exact closure days during this period 11 Emergency - Recovery of Motorcycles following evening practice (extension to evening closure) 30 May 2017

12 Canaccord Genuity Manx International Cycle Sportive 24 June 2017 10.45am – 4.00pm 13 British Cycling National Road Championships
25 June 2017 9.30am – 7.30pm 14 Patching, Hedge Trimming and Sweeping (pre-FOM) 8 August 2017 – 9 August 2017 6.30pm – 10.30pm 15 Festival of Motorcycling Road Races
19 August – 2 September 2017 Appendix 3 - no record of exact closure days during this period 16 Rally IOM Road Races 16 September 2016 12.50pm – 5.20pm 17 TT Course Race Furniture Removal Work 22 September 2017 9.30am – 4.30pm 18 Emergency – Heavy Snowfall 8 December – 12 December 2017

19 Emergency – Snow and ice 12 December to 13 December 2017

2018

20 Emergency – High winds 2 January 2018

21 Emergency – Safe removal of electronic signs 2 February 2018

22 Patching and Lining Work 10 April – 12 April 2018 Duration 23 Cyclefest
21 April 2018 9.30am – 12.00pm; and 3.30pm – 5.00pm 24 Classic Cars Sprint and Hill Climbs Road Races 28 April 2018 9.00am – 6.00pm 25 TT Road Races 25 May – 11 June 2018 Appendix 4 - no record of exact closure days during this period 26 Honda UK – Filming 2 June 2018 7.00am - 8.00am

27 Honda UK - Filming 3 June 2018 7.30am – 8.30am 28 Audi Vehicle Launch
12 July – 19 July 2018 (except 15 July) 12.30pm - 4.00 pm
29 Emergency – Surface Re-texturing at Brandywell 13 July 2018

30 Canaccord Genuity Manx International Cycle Sportive 5 August 2018 8.45am – 2.00pm 31 Emergency - Festival of Motorcycling preparatory work 7 August 2018 – 8 August 2018 6.30pm – 10.30pm

Appendix 1 FOM 2016 Closure Periods

Appendix 2 TT 2017 Closure Periods

Appendix 3 FOM 2017 Closure Periods

Appendix 4 TT 2018 Closure Periods

Department of Infrastructure Sea Terminal Building, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2RF

Contact: FOI Response Team Telephone: (01624) 686785

Our ref: 570634 20 August 2018

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 13 August 2018 and which states:

"How many times has the Mountain Road been shut in the past 24 months and for what reasons on each occasion was it closed for?"

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the public authority does not hold or cannot, after taking reasonable steps to do so, find some of the information that you have requested. The Department isn’t the only Authority with the power to close roads. In the event of an emergency the Police also have the ability to shut roads; therefore you may wish to submit a Freedom of Information request to the IOM Constabulary via the online portal. The information that we hold is attached in Appendix 1 Please quote the reference number 570634 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on;

1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or
2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
   In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely