Sergio Melendez of Aurora is hoping to take a camping trip during the upcoming Memorial Day weekend as long as things work out.
“I usually try to go away somewhere that weekend to a family camping site that is in Clinton Lake or sometimes we go to Ottawa,” Melendez said as he filled up his truck at a Speedway gas station in Batavia Monday morning. “I think it’s normal on this weekend that people go somewhere.”
If you find roads heading in and out of Aurora and the Chicago area a bit more congested or waits at O’Hare, Midway and Rockford airports a bit longer this Memorial Day weekend, the AAA Auto Group Club says they saw it coming.
Officials with the group said that travel numbers are expected to return to 2019 levels which set records four years ago.
Molly Hart, spokesperson for the AAA Auto Group Club, said here in Illinois “more than 2 million people are forecasted to travel 50 miles or more this Memorial Day weekend,” a number that she said “is right in line with the 2019 numbers.”
“We’re just a little bit shy of 2019 which were recording-breaking numbers,” she said. “What is notable is that people – a lot of people – are going to be flying nationally this year and that is a record-breaking number. We know that 3.4 million are going to be flying nationally, and that is 11% more passengers than last year, a number that is 170,000 greater than those flying back in 2019.”
Hart warns that airports are going to be jammed and suggests people get to the airport early rather than expect that two hours or less before flight time will be enough.
“We always recommend at least two hours earlier but with 170,000 more flying maybe three hours would be better,” Hart said.
In terms of auto travel, current average gas prices in the area are at $3.99, Hart said Monday, more than $1 less than they were at this time a year ago.
“It was just under $5 a year ago, so gas prices have dropped which will be great for drivers. They’ll have a little bit more in their pockets to spend for fun events,” Hart said. “We don’t expect prices to go up significantly in the next week, but of course what we want people to do before they even get on the road is to get their car checked.”
Hart said the AAA group uses a system to predict the number of breakdowns expected during the holiday weekend, a number that she said could reach almost half a million.
“We are anticipating 483,000 stranded drivers nationally during the holiday weekend and we don’t want that to happen to you,” she said.
Prime spots for Illinois travelers include a lake or beach destination, Hart said, along with tourist centers like Orlando, Las Vegas and New York City.
“One interesting one is a lot of people say they are driving to Canton, Ohio, the home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” Hart said. “Most importantly, what we’re seeing is that it is going to be a very busy summer. It’s so important that people book now.”
Batavia resident Mike Best, who was visiting the Speedway at 1495 E. Wilson St. in Batavia Monday, said that like Melendez, he was hoping to go camping at a site not too far away.
“It’s about 30 miles away. I have a camper and we usually go on Memorial Day and being retired, I can go anytime I want,” Best said. “I’m not surprised more people are traveling and it’s going to be a nice weekend. I’ve got six grandkids and they love it.”
Mark Sciaraba of Lombard said he had no plans to go anywhere but agrees more people will be traveling this year.
“The fact that people are supposedly going to flying more doesn’t surprise me at all,” he said. “I may go to see my brother in California, and things like the pandemic never really stopped me. I think people are spending the money. I know that things are really high, but it’s not stopping people from spending. If they want to go, they’re going to go.”
The AAA group notes for those traveling out of town by car, Friday will be the busiest day on the road.
The best times to travel by car, during the holiday weekend, will be in the morning or evening after 6 p.m. The lightest traffic days will be Saturday and Sunday, group officials said.
On both Thursday and Friday, the worst travel times will be between 3 and 6 p.m., according to AAA officials. The best travel time on Thursday will be before 1 p.m. and on Friday before noon, officials said.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
