CBS 2 Chicago wbbm7801059 670 The Score

Local

NATO Parking Restrictions Begin, Security To Tighten Over The Week

A military official holds a NATO flag on April 4, 2009 during the NATO summit in Strasbourg, eastern France. (MICHAEL URBAN/AFP/Getty Images)

A military official holds a NATO flag on April 4, 2009 during the NATO summit in Strasbourg, eastern France. (MICHAEL URBAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Don't Miss This
Don't Miss This

CHICAGO (CBS) – Parking restrictions and other security measures for the NATO summit next Sunday have already started going into effect.

CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports on the preparations for the summit at McCormick Place, which kicks off in less than a week.

We’re starting to see signs of just what it’ll be like a week from now. On Sunday, officials had already posted signs informing motorists Lake Shore Drive would be shut down between 39th Street and Balbo Avenue for three days next weekend. So will several other parts of the lakefront.

The Locke family was picnicking Sunday on the grass along the lakefront, in the shadow of McCormick Place – something they won’t be able to do next Sunday, when the NATO summit is in town.

No one knows yet exactly where along the lakefront fences and barricades will be set up during the summit, but contracts have been awarded for them.

MORE: What To Expect During NATO Summit

The first parking restrictions are already in effect on Sunday, along Indiana Avenue outside McCormick Place West, which is now bare of parked cars.

Early Tuesday morning, the parking ban will expand from a single street to several square blocks west of McCormick Place, and remain in effect until after all the delegates leave.

Other parking restrictions will include the Loop, across from Daley Plaza, where complexes like Block 37 have closed entrances, and covered some of their windows, as have other businesses.

Next Monday will be anything but a normal workday.

“We’re taking some security measures and actually, I’m working from home that day,” Marian Richardson said.

Chicagoans are, to put it mildly, somewhat concerned about the summit. Even NATO, in a video on its website, acknowledges that, stating “there’s interest, enthusiasm, and anxiety as the summit approaches.”

“It’s more a pain in the butt,” one man said.

“I just don’t see anything positive coming out of that,” Lapellia Williams said.

Others – like the Locke family – have mixed emotions.

“I know it’s gonna be good for the economy, all the hotels and stuff like that. I just hope the security issue is not the same as it was in Seattle. They had a bad problem out there,” Al Locke said.

NATO’s video tried to calm those fears.

“The main advice is: don’t panic. The security services have been working for some time on the coordination of the event,” the NATO video’s narrator says. “The Chicago police force has been trained to deal with demonstrators.”

It’s unclear how much comfort that long-distance assurance will be to Chicagoans, who seem to be collectively holding their breath, despite the success of local authorities in dealing with previous protests staged in Chicago, leading up to the summit.

Listen Live!

RSS Most Popular News

Follow CBS Chicago

Like us on foursquare

RSS Contests & Promotions

  • Win $1,000 In Gas From Hyundai! June 17, 2013
    Enter to win $1,000 in free gas from Hyundai! What’s better than free gas? How about the 2013 Elantra Limited with an EPA-Estimated 38 MPG Highway! 28 City/38 Hwy. EPA Estimates. For comparison only. Actual mileage may vary.
  • Join Hankook Tire To Reel In The Next Big Catch May 20, 2013
    Join Hankook tire to reel in the next great catch! Click here to go to www.TirePrize.com and enter for your chance to win the ultimate fishing excursion in Puerto Rico!
  • Marquette County Convention & Visitors Bureau Post Game Show Giveaway May 10, 2013
    Listen to The Score’s Baseball Post Game Show for your chance to win a $100 lodging gift certificate from the Marquette County Convention & Visitors Bureau!
  • Enjoy Golf’s Best Round With GREY GOOSE Vodka May 1, 2013
    Enjoy Golf’s Best Round this season with GREY GOOSE Vodka! Visit your participating retailer today and purchase one 750 mL or larger bottle of GREY GOOSE Vodka to receive one free round of golf!
WBBM Newsradio 780, Radio Stations & Broadcast Companies, Chicago, IL

Twitter Updates