The City of Chicago announced that the city will enter Phase 3 of the recovery plan on June 3rd. While this date marks the start of the new phase, various activities will be phased in. Westrec is currently working on details with the Park District to determine what date the Chicago Harbors will 'officially' open, however they announced the following boat 'staging' plan:
Boat Staging
Chicago Harbors customers are allowed to bring their boats to a temporary slip to “stage” their boats until the harbors open. We are staging boats at the following harbors:
- 31st Street and Montrose – OPEN FOR STAGING
- Belmont, Burnham, Jackson Park Outer – STAGING OPENS JUNE 6
- Diversey, DuSable, Monroe, Jackson Park Inner, 59th Street – STAGING OPENS JUNE 10
Reservations and Delivery
- All boaters wishing to bring boats in will require a reservation. Please click here to make a reservation.
- Boaters will receive an email confirmation or phone call from the marina manager to coordinate.
- We will limit the deliveries to 10 boats per hour at each location to allow for social distancing on the docks.
- Delivery crews will be limited in size to the state’s current restrictions.
- The marina manager will assign boats a temporary slip to deliver to and stage at until the harbors open. Boaters with slips in the staging
- Boaters will not be charged for the temporary slip and will continue to accrue their pro-rata mooring fee credit until the Chicago Harbors open.
- Deliveries will only be allowed between 9:00am and 4:00pm.
- Delivery crews must wear PPE while on harbor property.
- Launch ramps at 31st Street and Diversey remain closed.
Access to Staged Boats
- Reservations must be made at least 24 hours in advance with the marina manager to access boats.
- Hours of access will be 8:00am to 5:00pm. Docks will be cleared and chained shut at 5:00pm.
- Only two people per boat will be allowed access at any time and only for maintenance purposes.
- There will be a limit of 10 people per any one dock.
- Boaters must wear PPE on docks and harbor property, except while on their boats.
- Boaters are allowed to perform in-water maintenance on their boat. Please note: boats will not be accessible for recreation purposes. Alcohol, loud music, social gatherings, and overnight stays are not allowed until the harbors open.
- Security will be in place from 5pm – 8am at both locations.
Parking
- 31st Street: Due to reconfiguration work on the access systems near the garage, parking will be in the West lot only until we open from 8:00am to 5:00pm. We will leave the gate open in the far south end of the West lot from 8am-5pm and then the lot will be closed overnight. We will transition to parking on the East side spaces after the access systems come on-line next week.
- Montrose: Montrose boaters will be allowed to use their 2019 passes to access the south lot from 8:00am to 5:00pm. All other boaters will park on the street (there is lots of parking with the Lakefront closed). Burnham and Belmont boaters will be able to use their 2019 parking passes to access parking lots from 8:00am to 5:00pm.
TMA/Chicago Police
- We will give the TMA/Chicago Police a list each morning with the boaters who have reserved times to do maintenance on their vessels and for the pickup of crews delivering boats.
- Security: Due in part to recent civil unrest, we have increased the security at harbors. Harbors that are open for staging will have a dedicated security presence 24-hours a day. Please contact our office if you have specific concerns regarding your vessel.
Chicago Harbor Information
For the most current Chicago Harbor information from Westrec and the Chicago Park District, please visit https://www.chicagoharbors.info/covid-19
