LIST: Street closures for the NC teachers rally in Raleigh

Elaina Athans Image
Monday, April 29, 2019
NC teacher rally 2019: Street closures in Raleigh ahead of massive rally
The City of Oaks is only a few days out from the teacher rally, Day of Action.

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The City of Oaks is only a few days out from the teachers rally, Day of Action.

Thousands of educators and their advocates will be descending on downtown Raleigh and several streets will be closed Wednesday morning to give folks room to march.

Fayetteville Street will be shut down starting at 9:50 a.m. and it will remain closed until noon.

The area by the legislature will also be blocked. Barriers will be up on Jones Street until 5 p.m.

The march will start at 10 a.m. at NCAE headquarters. The crowd will walk up Salisbury Street, to Lenior and then Fayetteville.

Demonstrators will march around the State Capitol building, through Bicentennial Plaza, around the General Assembly and end on Halifax Mall.

Organizer Kristin Beller, the NCAE Wake County President, said teams are still working feverishly to figure out logistics and how to get people into Raleigh by bus.

"We're trying to do our part to make sure that we don't clog up downtown as much as possible," she said.

The City of Raleigh is asking for folks coming downtown on Wednesday to enter the city from the south side (I-40E to Hammond Rd to S. Wilmington St). This will put them in the area of four different parking decks.

ABC11 reached out to Raleigh Police about security arrangements.

The department isn't sharing specifics, but said in a statement: "In the best interest of public safety, the Raleigh Police Department declines to comment about security arrangements for events. However, it can be said that those in the department who are responsible for security and logistical planning consider and evaluate many factors, including events that have occurred elsewhere, as they make safety and staffing decisions."

Demonstrators plan on making a handful of demands.

Educators are asking lawmakers for more support staff, Medicaid expansion, a $15 minimum wage, reinstated retirement health benefits and advance degree compensation.

"We count on them as elected officials to make the choices that are best for our people and their constituents," said Beller. "We hope that they don't gavel in and gavel out and ignore the thousands and thousands of people who are coming to Raleigh to lift up education needs."