CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Sunday marks one of the city’s largest events of the summer: The Chicago Pride Parade.
The 52nd edition will feature 150 entries and traditionally bring tens of thousands of people to the North Side. The yearly parade began in 1970 as a protest march following the Stonewall Riots in New York City. It has now evolved into the Chicago’s second largest parade.
Here is everything you need to know about this Sunday’s Chicago Pride Parade.
Start Time
Parade begins at noon.
Route
Parade steps off at the corner of Broadway and Montrose in the Uptown neighborhood. It's a 21-block route. Participants will travel south on Broadway, then south on Halsted, then east on Belmont; then south on Broadway, then finish east on Diversey to Cannon Drive in East Lakeview.
Street Closures
The Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications says closures could begin as early as 8 a.m. at staging areas and 9:30 a.m. along the parade route. Although, crowds may dictate earlier start times.
These streets will be closed at Broadway and Addison:
-Montrose
-Irving Park
-Wellington
These streets will be closed at Halsted:
-Grace
-Roscoe
Streets are expected to fully reopen at 8 a.m.
Parking Restrictions
They will begin at 5 a.m. Sunday for the assembly area at Broadway and Montrose as well as the parade route.
Pedestrian Crossings
Parade goers will be able to use the following nine areas along the parade route to cross the street:
-Montrose at Broadway
-Irving Park Road at Broadway
-Grace at Broadway
-Addison at Halsted
-Cornelia at Halsted
-Roscoe at Halsted
-Aldine at Halsted
-Barry Avenue at Broadway
-Wellington Avenue at Broadway
Best Viewing Spots
Parade organizers encourage spectators to avoid the typically crowded areas- at and around the Belmont and Addison CTA Stations-. Instead, they suggest gathering near the start of the parade route, on Broadway, south of Montrose. That would be the area near the CTA Red Line Wilson and Sheridan Stations.
Alcohol
Open containers of alcohol are prohibited along the parade route and those in violation could be issued a ticket of $1,000. Organizers say there will be 170 private security guards patrolling the route.
Public Transportation
Both the CTA and Metra will provide added trains on parade day.
Both the CTA Red and CTA Brown Lines will get you to the parade route.
CTA Red Line stations to get off at:
-Wilson
-Sheridan
-Addison
-Belmont
CTA Brown Line stations to get off at:
-Diversey
-Wellington
-Belmont
The CTA however is encouraging parade goers to avoid the Belmont Station, fearing that there’s a good chance it could become overcrowded. The CTA says the Belmont station may be restricted to the main entrance on the south side of Belmont Avenue and that they might even have to close the station if the platform becomes too crowded.
They recommend the CTA Addison Red Line or CTA Wellington Brown Line Stations.
CTA lakefront buses, specifically the #146 and #151, also are convenient options, taking you from the north, the Gold Coast/North Michigan Avenue and Downtown and dropping you off just east of the parade route.
The CTA will also be rerouting the following buses:
-#8 Halsted
-#22 Clark
-#36 Broadway
-#76 Diversey
-#77 Belmont
-#78 Montrose
-#80 Irving Park
-#151 Sheridan
-#152 Addison
Metra will have additional trains for their BNSF, Union Pacific North, Union Pacific Northwest and Union Pacific West lines.
Here are the additions:
-BNSF Line: two extra inbound and two extra outbound trains.
- UP North and the UP West Lines: two extra morning inbound trains and one extra evening train.
-UP Northwest Line: one extra inbound train.
First Aid Stations
The Chicago Fire Department will operate five first aid stations located at:
-901 W. Addison St.
-765 W. Roscoe St.
- 3165 N. Halsted St.
- 561 W. Surf St.
-802 W. Roscoe St.
Cooling Buses
Although there will not be extreme heat Sunday, cooling busses will be available at the following locations:
-Addison west of Halsted
-Roscoe east of Halsted
-Belmont east of Broadway
-Wilton north of Belmont
-Buena west of Broadway
-Belmont westbound between Halsted and Clark (2 buses)
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