9-Apr-20 – As Chicagoans stay home to curb transmission of COVID-19, the Loop is feeling the impact in a way that can be measured.

Chicago Loop Alliance, which has been counting pedestrians since 2016, said on Wednesday that foot traffic in the Loop on Tuesday, April 7, 2020, was 81 percent less than it was on Tuesday, April 9, 2019.

“There’s no doubt that activity across the city is declining, but when you have a neighborhood like the Loop, with 370,000 workers and tens of millions of annual visitors but only 20,000 residents, a stay-at-home order hits hard,” said Michael Edwards (left), President/CEO of Chicago Loop Alliance.

“While we are certainly very concerned about the impacts COVID-19 is having on the Loop, we understand the most important thing right now is staying home and saving lives. We are eager to welcome our workers and visitors back to downtown Chicago, and the more we cooperate and come together as a city, the sooner that will be,” he said.

According to CLA, there were 42 percent fewer pedestrians in the Loop on March 14, 2020, when the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and greening of the Chicago River were cancelled, compared with the day in 2019 on which the events occurred.

The counting is done automatically by equipment made by Springboard, a company based in the United Kingdom. Eighteen counters are installed on both sides of State Street from Wacker Drive south to Ida B. Wells Drive. Additional counters are at Michigan Avenue & Wacker Drive, Michigan Avenue & Washington Street, and in the Pedway.

With fewer pedestrians in the Loop, the organization Streetplus recently took the opportunity to clean and disinfect all furniture, fixtures, and equipment on State Street, including newspaper racks, trash cans, and benches. A longtime vendor of CLA, Streetplus has shifted its focus from helping people with directions, sidewalk sweeping, and graffiti removal, to more thorough cleaning and disinfecting.

(Right) A CLA Street Team member cleans State Street in front of the Chicago Theatre in 2016.