According to the Mayor's Office of Special Events, "The City of Chicago's Fourth of July fireworks display can be viewed on the North Side from Foster to Montrose."
From Ald. O'Connor's (Ward 40) newsletter:
"Our community is fortunate that we will have two free shows at our lakefront. On Saturday, July 3rd the outstanding Saddle and Cycle Display can be seen. The show takes place at Foster Beach. On Sunday, July 4th the City is starting a new tradition. Instead of a gigantic show in the Loop, there will be 3 barges in the lake putting on a synchronized show at 9:00 p.m. The nearest show is 2,000 feet off the lake between Foster and Lawrence.
"The City has been preparing for this for months. Margate Park will be the police/fire staging area and many Uptown side streets will be closed East of Broadway. It will be crowded. We are expecting between 350,000 and 400,000 people. There will be all sorts of additional public transportation and city services. So join us. Relax. Have some safe fun."
A reader adds: "[Police Commander] Lucy Moy-Bartosik said the fireworks will cause heavy congestion from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., and residents should brace themselves for the influx of people."
A block club member forwarded this: "Here is an update on the impact of the 4th of July Celebration, given at 20th District DAC meeting tonight. Note the following is the current status of the plans, but remember these plans are still being developed and are still very fluid.
The following streets will be closed to traffic at 7 PM Sunday July 4 (Some local traffic with an official Photo ID that show your address may be let through to return home)*: * This depends on how open the streets are. There could be gridlock? Better to return home before this time and walk in and out if needed.
- Lawrence East of Broadway
- Foster East of Broadway
- Kenmore (Lawrence to Foster)
- Winthrop (Lawrence to Foster)
- Sheridan (Lawrence to Foster)
- Marine Drive (Lawrence to Foster)
- Lake Shore Drive exits at Lawrence and Foster will be closed.
The fireworks will start at 9:00 PM and will be from a barge located off the shore between Lawrence and Foster. More to follow as plans change and firm up as we get closer to the event."
Will the police presence be large enough to handle the crowd? Wasn't there a major gang fight in the loop after the July 3rd fireworks two years ago.
ReplyDeletePutting that many vistors into the neighborhood is crazy. The streets will need to be shut down by 10:00 a.m.
I hate to sound like a bad neighbor, but this sounds like a HUGE nightmare in the making. I live on Argyle, between Marine and Sheridan and as anyone else living around there can attest to, parking is already a nightmare around the neighborhood, especially on weekends when people that don't have any clue how to park flock to the area. Have there been any discussions about what the residents are supposed to do when they close the streets and take away parking? Have they said how long AFTER the show the streets will be closed? It would be nice of the mayor to let his residents know how long they will be displaced from their homes!
ReplyDeleteALL I CAN SAY IS GOOD LUCK UPTOWN. THIS IS GOING TO BE A DISASTER IN THE MAKING. WHY ON EARTH THE MAYOR WOULD CRAM THIS INTO THE NEIGHBORHOODS IS BEYOND ME. I CAN SEE IT NOW, LSD BACKED UP FOR DAYS AND HOLLYWOOD TO SHERIDAN OR BROADWAY AS WELL. THE DOWNTOWN AREA IS FAR MORE EQUIPT TO HANDLE THESE SIZE CROWDS. WHAT'S THE POINT OF THIS? I HOPE IT'S NOT TO SAVE THE CITY MONEY BECAUSE THIS NIGHTMARE IS ONLY GOING TO COST THEM MORE AND IF IT'S TO CUT DOWN ON THE CRIMES THE THUGS ARE BRINGING INTO DOWNTOWN, "WHEREVER YOU GO THERE YOU ARE". MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR RESIDENTS TO GET TO THEIR HOMES IS JUST WRONG. NICE GOING MAYOR DALEY. NICE TO SEE YOU HAVE THE RESIDENTS BEST INTEREST FRONT AND CENTER...NOT!
ReplyDeleteHey Kris, you don't need to be yelling.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think we'll all survive a day or two of inconvenience. Plan ahead. Find a place to park that won't be a problem. Take a mini vacation out of the area. Leave your car at a friend's house and spend the night. Or, think of something else to make this go easier on yourself. We live in one of the biggest cities in the country, right? We should expect to be inconvenienced much more often than we are, in my opinion.
ALINA;
ReplyDeleteSORRY FOR THE CAPS, I'M NOT YELLING. I HAVE CANCER IN MY EYE AND THE CAPS HELP ME SEE BETTER.
I DON'T DRIVE SO I'M NOT CONCERNED FOR MYSELF. GREAT IDEA'S SUGGESTED IF YOU CAN DO THAT. STILL, I THINK HAVE THE FIREWORK DISPLAY ANYWHERE OTHER THAN DOWNTOWN IS A MAJOR INCONVENIENCE, NOT A LITTLE ONE.
I'm looking forward to this. I don't own a car (one of the biggest advantages of living in a CITY) so I could care less about parking and traffic. I'm a bit concerned about our parkways getting trampled and littered upon. I hope the City plans on cleaning up the neighborhood as they do Grant Park (wishful thinking).
ReplyDeleteWhy does everyone have to be so negative? Try being an optimist, it's much less stressful.
there still are fireworks downtown (navy pier). Considering most suburbanites can't find anything in the City that ISN'T downtown, perhaps we can enjoy a more exclusive display that the usual hot, cramped, sweaty Grant Park experience. Imagine it, no overloaded red lines, no throngs of people blocking every sidewalk, no traffic people telling us when we are 'allowed' to cross the street. Just Chicagoans and their lakefront.
ReplyDeleteNow THAT'S optimism.
The fireworks should be downtown that is where the streets are built to handle all the people.
ReplyDeleteUnderstood, Kris. I'll keep that in mind. :)
ReplyDeleteUU, CTA will also be affected. Forget any bus routes east of Broadway, and I wouldn't count on Broadway bus either.
ReplyDeleteThe Red Line should be fine.
Personally I'm pretty stoked about this. Now I don't have to fight the crowds to get downtown and see the fireworks.
ReplyDeleteWill it cause headaches? sure, but I think they'll be manageable and worth it.
I think this is an incredibly stupid idea unless there are 5 cops on every corner from noon until 5am the next day. They cannot even keep the peace and sanity in Uptown on a normal evening...
ReplyDeleteNOW they want to add the same amount of people that live in Joliet, Springfield and Waukegan COMBINED into Uptown? What a truly stupid, stupid, stupid idea...
I think the only thing that bothers me will be the congestion.. but thats mainly cause of the construction on clark/lawrence. im just hoping and praying its over by then.
ReplyDeleteotherwise, i appreciate the fact that i dont have to bus/cab/train it all the way downtown to see the fireworks. :)
I agree that the majority of people are being negative nancies. I'm all about people coming into Uptown (including tourists) that the mayor cares about and does not want to get caught in the crossfires. Hopefully it can draw some positive attention to the area.
ReplyDeleteSo far neither Mary Ann Smith or Helen Shiller have communicated well with the people who live in their wards. Imagine getting this info from an alderman west of Clark street.
ReplyDeleteI certainly hope both of these representatives will be out that day to see how the police are managing the crowd control, the CTA is managing the transportation and that the park can deal with the setup and clean up.
As for me, I will probably be down there to see the Saddle and Cycle club event (as I always do), but I may take a pass on the 4th.
Also, there is major sewer work begin done on Montrose at Ashland and Lawrence at Clark. This will also add to the traffic problems for people coming down to the lakefront.
Look at the brightside. If you can walk up on your roof you can likely see the fireworks without going to da park.
ReplyDeleteDa Mare did this in a fit of pique because of the lost Olympics. Striking back at the citizens because his ego is hurt.
A great city should have a great downtown fireworks. Bringing in the suburban masses for the 3rd of July ultimately benefits da city as those folks are then more likely to come back to da city for shopping and entertainment and perhaps even to live.
Now the DAMN(dreaded area Montrose North) lakefront is already packed with humanity near the 4th of July anyway.
Go to the DAMN lakefront on the 4th and you will find no parking, and tens of thousands of people enjoying our lakefront parks. Particularly the soccer field.
Uptown has arguably the best lakefront parks in da city. At least in terms of acreage. It's nice to see folks out with there kids and enjoying the holiday and the parks.
I really don't mind the fireworks being split between here, South Shore, and downtown. It's just that the downtown show should remain just as glorious fireworks wise.
Of course the white t shirt wearing bangers who tend to fire off a few rounds or engage in "fisticuffs" in or near Grant Park every 3rd of July may also have played a role in da mayoral decision. He may be trying to limit the chances of any embarrassment before his coming reelection campaign.
Man, the Mayor's Office of Special events had better bring us porta-potties and traffic barricades this year. For the past 10 years they've said "there are only so many potties and barricades in the city and we need them all at the Taste." I don't want to be in line with 125 others waiting to go at one of less than 10 permanent pots like in past years.
ReplyDeleteHow do they expect people to access or leave the park when police shut down the roads leading in and out of the park, there is no bus service and the beach is a mile away from Lake Shore Drive?
Maybe I need to find a friend with views overlooking the lake and stay home this year.
I hope all the good citizenry of Uptown bring along their Video Cams so we can record the mayhem and post it here!
ReplyDeleteI have a garage but I will make a special effort to park on the street that day!
ReplyDeleteEscape along Sheridan Road or Clark/Chicago St. to Evanston for their show which usually starts around 9:15 pm along the lake. I always liked theirs better than the Taste!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I hope no one gets hurt. For years, our police have ignored all the people who come to Cricket Hill and the beach to shoot off their own fireworks. What goes up must come down and now there will be more people for all those rockets to land on. (Not to mentions the bullets from those who shoot guns in the air.)
ReplyDeleteLiving in Margate park the past 6 years, I think there is a little over reaction here. The weekend of the 4th is always packed in Margate Park/Foster Ave Beach. The Saddle and Cycle Club has been putting on a 40 minute fireworks show easily visible from Margate Park for years (not a big secret). Curious as to if they will still launch thier fireworks.
ReplyDeleteThere is never enough parking ANYWHERE on the lakefront. The lakefront between Foster and Lawrence has some very good public transportation options, including EL access from Argyle as well as many bus lines including the 147,146,151,92,36 and 81.
I'm looking forward to it and trust the city to keep it orderly. You may have some hate for Chicago, but they are very experienced handling large crowds.