Proposal: Move Pride Parade downtown

Lakeview is divided over a proposal to move the annual Gay Pride Parade downtown, according to the survey Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) published Friday.

Of the 2,070 44th Ward residents who responded, 51 percent said they believe the parade should be moved downtown, i.e. to Columbus Drive in Grant Park.

Tunney’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the future of the parade or the effect the survey’s results would have on planning for 2015.

Among the respondents’ biggest concerns were crime, traffic, and crowds at the parade. More than 60 percent of the Lakeview residents who responded said they did not believe there was an “adequate police and security presence” in the time after the parade ends and traffic reopens, while roughly 33 percent said there wasn’t enough during the parade, either.

The overall survey, which fielded answers from about 3,400 people in and out of Lakeview, found that more than 55 percent of respondents were in favor of keeping the parade in Lakeview, where it snakes along Broadway, Halsted Street, Belmont, and Diversey Avenues from Uptown to Lincoln Park. The 44th annual parade this summer drew close to a million people, leading some to criticize the parade organizers’ crowd control and planning and police to crackdown on rooftop and balcony parties.

Other issues raised by parade organizers and Tunney’s office have included public drinking and other public nuisance problems, and crimes such as theft and property damage.