Election Day transportation a rally on steroids

Barack Obama's supporters hope Tuesday night's gathering at Grant Park is the culmination of a dream come true.

For the people in charge of moving you in and out of downtown Chicago, the evening will border on a nightmare.

Most of the city east of the Kennedy/Dan Ryan Expressway, north of Cermak Avenue and south of Illinois Street will be shut down to accommodate an anticipated throng as great as a million.

A series of road closures will be announced Monday.

Taking your car in the area will not be a good idea.

"Please, please use public transportation if you plan on coming down," said Ray Orozco, chief of the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications.

Transit officials are preparing for an event similar to the annual July 3 fireworks show, only on steroids.

Metra and the Chicago Transit Authority are packing their schedules with extra crews and service, ensuring that the rally's impact will be felt far into the suburbs.

Loop employers are being encouraged to send their workers home at 3 p.m. on Election Day to accommodate the influx, forcing Metra to start its outbound rush hour routine a couple of hours early.

A revised Metra schedule, viewable at www.metrarail.com, shows increased service on the Electric and the Rock Island District lines throughout the evening, with the Heritage Corridor and SouthWest Service lines operating normally. Metra personnel will be in stations Monday and Tuesday handing out copies.

Tuesday, for inbound trains arriving after 6 p.m., all fares will be $5 for a roundtrip ticket. The tickets will be sold on the trains.

Alcohol is prohibited on board.

Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet said the evening will involve a lot guesswork.

Not knowing when the dust will settle on the presidential race makes it impossible to stack the schedule optimally, she said. And Metra can only speculate where most rallygoers will board.

"We are in a very tight spot," Pardonnet said. "We can only hope for early returns and Sen. Obama declares victory before midnight."

Also, the commuter rail service is forced to cease operations after 1 a.m. Wednesday or risk exceeding federal limits on the number of continuous hours train crews can work. She said the downtown stations will stay open through the night if riders are stranded.

"We cannot run trains all night and expect to have a normal rush hour in the morning," Pardonnet said.

The CTA is providing longer trains on the Orange and Green lines from the South Side into the Loop until 2 a.m. The Red Line will run longer trains all night.

On all lines, increased service normally reserved for the rush hours will start immediately after the rally. Customers are advised to purchase fare cards in advance.

Pace is choosing not to run shuttles into downtown from the suburbs, unlike its practice for other major events in the city. Pace spokesman Patrick Wilmot said the inability to secure arrival and departure sites near Grant Park is the biggest reason why.

"It would have been too difficult logistically," he said.

Contributing: Kim Janssen

Guy Tridgell can be reached at gtridgell@southtownstar.com or (708) 633-5970.

You should know

• Downtown employers are being urged to let workers leave by 3 p.m.

• Metra trains will stop rolling at 1 a.m.

• Service will increase on the Electric Line and Rock Island Line during the day.

• Metra stations will stay open overnight for stranded travelers

• CTA Orange and green lines will run until 2 a.m. The Red Line will run all night.

• Do not take your car into the Loop.