The DNC will bring closed streets, CTA changes and possibly a new station. Here’s how it will affect residents and commuters getting around Chicago

Streets around the United Center and McCormick Place will close, access around the sites will be restricted and CTA riders could see changes when the Democratic National Convention comes to town.

Security and transportation plans came into sharper focus Thursday, when DNC officials unveiled measures that will limit movement through the area around the two primary convention sites as an expected tens of thousands of visitors, delegates, politicians and protesters arrive in Chicago.

CTA President Dorval Carter separately answered questions from aldermen about how the beleaguered agency would balance transporting official convention participants and getting Chicago residents about their daily business.

The picture that emerged was of plans with implications for drivers, ride-share passengers, food delivery services, cyclists and CTA riders in the days before and during the Aug. 19-22 convention, especially around the United Center and McCormick Place.

The blocks immediately surrounding the two sites will include inner and outer perimeters that will limit access, security plans outlined Thursday show. A fenced-off inner area will be restricted to credentialed pedestrians, while in the blocks outside that area streets will be closed and access will be limited to screened vehicles that enter through a checkpoint.

“The largest impacts will be felt around the United Center, McCormick Place, specifically due to street closures, parking restrictions and added security measures,” said Jose Tirado, executive director of Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications, during a news conference. “Businesses and homes will be accessible within those perimeters.”

Inside the pedestrian-only inner perimeter, access will be restricted to those who “have a need to be there,” such as people attending the convention, staff and volunteers. Pedestrians will pass through a screening checkpoint to gain access, said Jeff Burnside, the Secret Service’s 2024 DNC coordinator. No bikes or scooters will be allowed.

Pedestrians and cyclists will be allowed in the outer perimeter, Burnside said. At McCormick Place, ride-shares, taxis and food delivery vehicles will also be allowed in the outer perimeter, though they will have to pass through a screening checkpoint to get in, he said, cautioning there could be delays.

Streets around the United Center will begin closing Aug. 17 at 7 p.m., and are expected to reopen the morning of Aug. 23. At McCormick Place, streets will begin closing Aug. 16 at 10 p.m., and remain closed until convention events end. Lanes and sidewalks could close earlier while security barriers and fencing are installed, and parking restrictions will also be posted ahead of time, Burnside said.

At the United Center, the pedestrian-only area will stretch from roughly Washington Boulevard on the north, to Seeley Avenue on the west and Adams Street on the south, with the easternmost part of the border ending between Wood and Paulina streets. The outer perimeter extends a block or two to the southeast, and vehicles entering that area will be subject to screening at a checkpoint near Paulina and Monroe.

At McCormick Place, the inner perimeter will cover the areas immediately surrounding the convention center, from Cermak Road on the north to Indiana Avenue on the west, I-55 on the south and McCormick Drive on the east. An outer perimeter will extend about a block north, west and east of that site, with entry checkpoints on the north, west and, for commercial vehicles, the south.

Traffic will also be limited near the end of I-55 in Chicago. Nothing larger than a passenger car will be permitted between DuSable Lake Shore Drive and State Street, and the exit to MLK Boulevard from the expressway will be closed to general traffic. Other rolling street closures are expected, DNC officials said.

Burnside said residents would be able to access businesses in the outer perimeter. In the inner, restricted perimeter, businesses “have been reserved for exclusive use by convention attendees and volunteers,” he said.

Deliveries, including Amazon, trash pickup and mail service will continue, but vehicles will be screened before entering the outer perimeter so typical delivery and pickup times might change, Burnside said.

CTA buses that travel through the perimeter will also be affected, and reroutes are expected.

“Riders are asked to expect delays and budget a little extra time for travel,” Burnside said.

But train riders could get a new “L” stop before the convention. The long-awaited Damen Green Line station, less than half a mile from the United Center, will be open in time for the DNC, Transportation Commissioner Tom Carney told aldermen Thursday. CDOT had previously said the station would be open in July, but now is not specifying an opening date.

No significant extra train service will be added during the event, Carter told aldermen Thursday, even as the CTA has not yet restored service from pandemic-era cuts. The transit agency might add some additional train runs to and from O’Hare and Midway airports during peak travel times, and could add service on the Red Line for White Sox games during the convention in anticipation of larger than normal attendance, he said.

Carter characterized the potential additions as “normal activites” the CTA would typically undertake during the summer.

Convention delegates will get virtual Ventra cards preloaded with a CTA one-day pass, paid for by the DNC host committee, that they can use to ride trains when they arrive at either of the city’s two airports, CTA said. Extra staff will be on hand at both airport stations to help the delegates and other customers, Carter said.

The CTA also plans to provide buses to transport convention participants, a move that concerned some advocates as the agency has struggled with staff shortages that led to service cuts in recent years. The agency initially committed to providing up to 250, but Carter said he expects to use 175 buses. They will cost the agency $2.4 million, and the DNC host committee will cover the cost.

That should leave enough operators and buses for service in the rest of the city, Carter told aldermen. The agency has nearly 2,000 buses total, and is only about 30 staff members shy of prepandemic headcount in bus operations, he said.

“Chicagoans should not expect any disruption to their regular service because of what we are doing,” he said.

Other transportation agencies and companies are also preparing to move the influx of visitors around the city. Hometown airline United Airlines is adding 118 flights to and from Chicago in August. And Metra will be running hourly shuttle trains between O’Hare and downtown.