Metra is still not allowing uniformed Security Officer's to carry their guns to and from work. I say suit them and boycott. After a phone conversation with them and several emails I do not think they are going to change policy. I did however call CTA and they welcome the extra security on their system. So untill July 4th I along with 300 other Security Officer's will be riding the CTA until the 4th of July I encourage all of you to do the same.
WARNING: The best-laid plans for navigating around Chicago this weekend may not be good enough.
Through Monday evening, people should be extremely flexible about their travel plans or stay home as dignitaries from more than 50 nations and thousands of demonstrators arrive for the two-day NATO summit that starts Sunday at McCormick Place, transportation officials said.
Many downtown businesses have instructed employees to work from home Friday and Monday. For others, the key is to plan all trips and allow plenty of extra time. Be prepared to hit the "reset'' button — whether driving, using mass transit, bicycling or walking — when previously announced street closings suddenly change, officials said.
Parking restrictions are already in place through Tuesday night.
Street closings, including shutdowns of pedestrian and bicycle paths, start at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. Lake Shore Drive will be closed from 39th Street to Balbo on Saturday until an unspecified hour during the evening rush period on Monday, officials said. No traffic will be allowed on the Stevenson Expressway from the Dan Ryan Expressway to Lake Shore Drive during the same period.
Major intermittent closures will occur on the Kennedy Expressway in both directions betweenO'Hare International Airportand downtown; Ohio and Ontario streets between the Kennedy and Fairbanks Court/Columbus Drive; and the Dan Ryan to Roosevelt Road, 18th Street and Canalport Avenue, according to the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications.
A complete list of road closings and other restrictions is available at chicagotribune.com/natotraffic. The latest information on transit changes by the CTA and Metra will be posted at transitchicago.com and metrarail.com.
Asked for the most important times the public should avoid being out and around on the Kennedy and connecting corridors in order to steer clear of gridlock caused by NATO motorcades, theU.S. Secret Service offered virtually no guidance.
"The roadway closures will be intermittent and unannounced," Secret Service spokesman George Ogilvie said. "That's all we will say."
Security officials have previously said that full traffic stoppages involving temporary roadway closures will be in effect only for President Barack Obama's motorcade, but that all other heads of state will get the "rolling closure'' treatment, meaning traffic is halted as they pass.
But on Wednesday, Chicago police Supt. Garry McCarthy said the motorcades for the Afghan and Pakistani heads of state motorcades will also receive the highest level of security, which will include full stoppages of traffic.
"I don't think it's going to be crazy movement,'' McCarthy said at an afternoon news briefing. "There's going to be a lot of it, but I don't think there's going to be a lot of (full) closures.''
The cautionary instructions for the public to be nimble and extremely patient in planning what would ordinarily be routine commutes apply well beyond the downtown area. Outlying neighborhoods and the suburbs could be severely affected by traffic too, officials said.
Unannounced street and expressway closings, CTA and Metra trains stopped for security sweeps, extra detours of CTA buses that are already detoured from their normal routes, and airport delays even on a cloud-free day in May should be anticipated, officials said.
The Federal Aviation Administration expects the summit to have "little or no impact on commercial (airline) operations at O'Hare,'' FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said. She declined to say whether Saturday or Sunday would be the busier day for planes carrying world leaders to O'Hare.
Monday will be the busiest day by far at O'Hare, because all delegations will be leaving and Mondays are a big day for business travel. Complicating matters, the weather forecast for Monday calls for rain and possible thunderstorms, with the potential for heavy downpours, according to WGN chief meteorologist Tom Skilling.
Meanwhile, Metra will shutter five close-in stations Saturday through Monday on the Electric District line, which will operate without stopping under McCormick Place. On Monday, 25 Metra stations, including the entire Blue Island branch of the Electric line, will be closed.
Unprecedented security measures affecting all 11 Metra lines during the three days will likely throw the commuter railroad's normally good on-time performance to the wind.
Food, liquids and carry-ons such as backpacks and large purses will be prohibited on Metra trains starting Saturday, and passengers will be subject to random searches, Metra police said.
Metra riders are already complaining while they prepare. Their preparations include transporting in advance all bags and other carry-ons that are larger than the 15-by-15-by-4 inches allowed on Metra trains over the three-day period, and bringing enough nonperishable foods to work before the clampdown starts.
"The no-bags rule is ridiculous. Metra is blowing the situation way out of proportion,'' said Marlena Tonelli, 23, a student at John Marshall Law School who said she won't be able to bring even a change of clothes on Metra when she stays at her aunt's house in Downers Grove over the weekend. "If the CTA is not upsetting people's travel plans like this, I don't understand why Metra is.''
The CTA is taking what many experts view as a more practical approach to increasing security on an open mass-transit system that doesn't lend itself to airport-style passenger screening. CTA customers will see more police officers and explosives-sniffing dogs patrolling CTA rail stations, trains and buses, but the transit agency is not limiting what passengers bring on board.
The Active Transportation Alliance points out that bicycles are one of the best ways to get around during special events or street closures. But the lakefront trail will be closed from Balbo to Oakwood/39th Street starting at 6 a.m. Saturday through 6 p.m. Monday, the Chicago Park District said Wednesday.
For Jeffrey Blumenthal, of Hyde Park, who regularly rides his bike to his Loop law office, taking street closings in stride comes with the turf of living near the home of the president of the United States.
Blumenthal usually pedals along the lakefront path from 47th Street to Monroe Street, then west to his office on Dearborn Street. That won't be possible Monday. Biking is more dependable than riding a CTA bus downtown, he said, adding that buses rerouted because of the NATO summit will make the trip even longer.
"It doesn't seem like there are any good options to get downtown. I might just take off the day on Monday,'' he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment