2012 Pride Parade

Posted: 6/18/2012

DATE: Sunday, June 24, 2012
TIME: 12:00 Noon

PARADE KICK-OFF: Broadway & Montrose

NEW ROUTE: Steps off from the Broadway/Montrose corner, proceeding south on Broadway; then south on Halsted; then east on Belmont; then south on Broadway; then east on Diversey to Cannon Drive. See Map Below.

NEW STAGING LINE-UP: North Broadway (both the east and the west curb lanes, from Montrose to Wilson); West Montrose (both the north and south curb lanes from Broadway to Clark) and North Sheridan Road (both the east and the west curb lanes, from Montrose to Sunnyside). See Map Below.

NEW PARADE ROUTE CLOSURES: There will be rolling closure times. Cross streets will close as the parade travels south down the route. The parade starts at 12:00 Noon at the Broadway/Montrose corner proceeding south on Broadway; then south on Halsted; then east on Belmont; then south on Broadway; then east on Diversey to Cannon Drive. Cross streets will close as the parade travels south down the route.

PARKING RESTRICTIONS (5:00AM - 8:00PM - BOTH SIDES):

Montrose Ave. - Clark St. to Hazel St.
Broadway St. - Wilson Ave. to Grace St.
Sheridan Rd. - Sunnyside Ave. to Buena Ave.
Halsted St. - Grace St. to Belmont Ave.
Belmont Ave. - Sheffield Ave. to Broadway St.
Broadway St. - Belmont Ave. to Diversey Pkwy.
Diversey Pkwy. - Broadway St. to Lake Shore Drive.
Cannon Dr. - Diversey Pkwy. To Fullerton Pkwy.
Addison St. - Halsted St. to Sheffield Ave.
Addison St. - Halsted St. to 736 W. Addison

TOWING:

Due to the volume of vehicles involved, towing will begin promptly at 5:00AM.

PEDESTRIAN CROSS-OVER STREETS:

At each corner of the streets listed below, there will be four police officers assigned to assist pedestrians to cross the parade route:

Montrose Ave.
Irving Park Rd.
Addison St.
Grace St.
Roscoe St.
Wellington Ave.

PARADE INFORMATION:

The parade will feature 200 registered entries including floats, decorated vehicles, performance groups, a marching band and walking contingents. The entries represent community organizations, businesses, governmental officials and individual community members. Crowd estimates each year are in the hundreds of thousands. The parade route will be lined with barricades on both sides of the street from beginning to the end of the parade route. Spectators will be required to remain behind the barricades. (Only parade registrants traveling down the middle of the street, police officers, other city officials, parade marshals and credentialed media reps will be allowed in the street).

After stepping off at 12:00 PM, the parade will take approximately two and one-half hours to finish crossing the Broadway & Montrose corner. After this time, the floats will still be winding their way to the end of the parade route at Diversey & Sheridan. Police officers along with the parade marshals will be present along the route.

Alcohol consumption WILL NOT be tolerated under any circumstances. Open containers containing alcohol are illegal on the streets and sidewalks in Chicago. You will be subject to receiving a costly ticket and/or arrest from the Chicago Police Department.

The streets on the parade route will begin to be cleaned by Streets and Sanitation immediately after the last float has passed. Streets and Sanitation will continue to clean the residential side streets through the end of Monday, June 25th.

Police will work to re-open the streets to vehicular traffic as soon as cleaning crews are finished and the streets WILL NOT remain open to foot traffic.

Click here for the "Ten Tips for Spectators"

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION:

The new parade route has been lengthened to accommodate more CTA El Stations this year. Please look at the map below. The Wilson, Sheridan and Addison stations all provide convenient access via a short walk to the parade route. From the Brown Line, the Wellington and Diversey Stations provide convenient access as well.

Please note that the area around Belmont has historically been very crowded, so we urge you to consider areas near the new start of the parade route, such as Broadway Avenue south of Montrose.

The following bus routes will be rerouted:

Additional information on the reroutes can be obtained by calling the CTA customer service at 1-312-836-7000 or visiting http://www.transitchicago.com/.

NEEDS AND SPECIAL NEEDS:

1. Portable Restrooms - are stationed along both the parade line-up street and the parade route - sponsored by various businesses, organizations and individuals. Included at several locations are restrooms for the physically challenged.

2. Physically Challenged Area/Wheel chair Accessible Area - for people who need or want more space: the sidewalks of West Diversey Parkway (near 600 W. Diversey). Traditionally this area of the parade route has fewer spectators than other sections of the parade route. Spectators in these areas generally arrive there early on parade morning to secure their viewing spots. Included there are restrooms for the physically challenged.

For all additional information, click here for the Chicago Pride Parade website