6/26/02
Visitors to the Taste of Chicago Festival in Grant Park, Friday, June 28, through Sunday, July 7, will find CTA service the most effective way to travel. Longer 'L' trains will operate into the Loop until late every night, and extra buses will be available toward the close of each evening's activities to carry customers home.
More extensive service will be available on Wednesday evening, July 3, for spectators attending the fireworks display in Grant Park. All customers heading for the Taste and the fireworks are encouraged to purchase Transit Cards in advance to speed their trips in and out of the downtown area.
Extra Service for the Taste of Chicago:
Rail Service
Additional Customer Assistants will be on duty at Loop stations to help riders with the automated fare collection system and travel information.
Travel assistance will also be offered at a mobile CTA information facility on Jackson just east of Michigan, where CTA personnel will sell Transit Cards valued at $1.50 (single ride) and $1.80 (ride with transfer), as well as 1, 2, 3, and 5-Day Visitor Passes.
Blue/Brown/Green Lines: Longer trains will operate on each of these lines until late each evening.
Yellow Line Trains will start at 9:30 a.m. and will operate later than usual on weekdays, with the last train leaving Howard at 11:30 p.m.
Service will also operate on weekends and July 4, starting at 9:30 a.m. and continuing until 11:30 p.m. from Howard.
'L' Station Parking for Taste Visitors
Parking is available for more than 6,300 cars at facilities adjacent to 15 'L' stations, mainly at terminals, throughout the CTA system. Most of the spaces are used on weekdays by commuters who drive for part of their trips and take CTA service for the rest. Taste of Chicago visitors will find parking more readily available late in the day on weekdays, evenings and all day on weekends and July 4. Rates run from $1 to $1.75, with most facilities charging $1.50 for up to 24 hours of parking. Park ?n? Ride stations are listed on CTA's System Map and on the CTA's web site at www.transitchicago.com.
Bus Service
All buses that regularly use Columbus Drive north of Roosevelt will be detoured to Michigan between Balbo and Roosevelt throughout the Taste of Chicago.
As Taste activities wind down each evening, extra buses will await riders for trips away from the downtown area at the following locations:
#3 King Drive and #4 Cottage Grove buses will be staged southbound on Michigan at Van Buren.
#6 Jeffery Express buses and #62 Archer buses, operating at all times, may be boarded southbound on State.
#20 Madison and #56 Milwaukee buses will await riders on Madison at Wabash.
#60 Blue Island/26th and #126 Jackson buses will wait on Adams at Wabash.
#151 Sheridan buses may be boarded northbound on State at Adams.
Extra Service for the Fireworks in Grant Park, Wednesday, July 3
Rail Service (Bicycles are not allowed on trains July 3)
Blue Line: Longer trains and more frequent service between, O'Hare, Forest Park and 54th/Cermak.
Red Line: Longer trains and more frequent service between 95th and Howard.
Green Line: Longer trains and more frequent service between Harlem, East 63rd and Ashland.
Brown Line: Longer trains, more frequent service and extended hours (until 1:30 a.m.) from the Loop.
Yellow Line: More frequent service and extended hours (until 1 a.m.) from Howard.
Purple Line: Trains will operate until 2 a.m. from Howard.
Bus Service
#124 Navy Pier Express buses will serve Navy Pier from Union Station and the Ogilvie Transportation Center (North Western Station) from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Buses will make return trips to the stations from 10 p.m. to midnight.
Later service will operate on the #65 Grand route, with the last bus leaving Grand/Nordica for Navy Pier at 8:15 p.m. Return service from Navy Pier will operate between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m.
In addition to #124 service, after the fireworks, extra buses will be staged at Navy Pier on the four routes that regularly serve the pier: #29 State, #56 Milwaukee, #65 Grand and #66 Chicago.
Michigan and State will be closed to traffic downtown at about 7 p.m. and buses using these streets will be detoured to Clark (southbound) and Dearborn (northbound). Buses entering downtown from the west will go east to Dearborn or Clark before starting new trips west on Madison or Adams.
Extra Buses After the Fireworks
#3 King Drive and #4 Cottage Grove buses will be staged southbound on Michigan at Van Buren.
#6 Jeffery Express, #29 State, and #62 Archer buses will be available for service southbound on Clark from Wacker to Van Buren.
#12 Roosevelt buses will start trips west on Roosevelt from Michigan.
#20 Madison and #56 Milwaukee buses will await riders on Madison at Clark.
#60 Blue Island/26th and #126 Jackson buses will be on Adams at Clark.
#22 Clark, #36 Broadway, #146 Marine/Michigan Express and #151 Sheridan buses will start trips north on Dearborn at Jackson.
For details about all CTA service call 836-7000 (all area codes) or visit www.transitchicago.com to use the travel planner feature.
# # #