Downtown traffic snags expected for Monday

Chicago residents and workers downtown on Monday should expect crowds, extra police and traffic hassles during Donald Trump’s first visit to the city as president.

Trump is expected to attend a fundraising luncheon at his namesake hotel on Wabash Avenue. He also will make a speech to law enforcement officers at the International Association of Chiefs of Police convention at McCormick Place.

Demonstrations are planned by protest groups, including Indivisible Illinois and Indivisible Chicago.

Between the protests and the safety requirements of a presidential visit, commuters should expect “traffic impacts,” said Melissa Stratton, spokeswoman for the city’s office of emergency management and communications. She declined to comment on specific closures.

John Rutledge, president and CEO of Oxford Hotels & Resorts, said his business has been warned that there may be intermittent closures of Lower Wacker Drive, where many big buildings receive deliveries. The hotel group is rerouting all valet parking routes as the Trump garage is likely to be closed, and guests are being advised of the possibility of protests, plus likely traffic and parking delays, Rutledge said.

Oxford has developed, owns and manages several hotels on and around Michigan Avenue. That includes LondonHouse, which is across the Chicago River from Trump International Hotel & Tower. The company is advising employees to allow extra travel time to get to and from work, and recommending use of trains and not buses, Rutledge said.

The CTA said in a statement that it will implement bus reroutes as needed on Monday, as it does for any special event that affects bus service.

While it cannot disclose exact deployment amounts, Chicago Police will have up to 1,800 additional officers available if needed, said Luis R. Agostini, assistant director of communications for the department.

“Protecting and respecting the constitutional rights of all Chicago residents and visitors is paramount to CPD,” Agostini said in an email. “We are also committed to ensuring demonstrators for any planned events can express their opinions in a safe and responsible manner, within the boundaries of the law.”

Trump canceled a pre-primary March 2016 rally at the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion because of confrontations between protesters.