EVANSTON, Ill. -- There are big changes in Northwestern University's commencement exercises this year -- including a new start time, at 9:30 a.m. Friday, June 21. Graduates and their guests, as well as faculty and staff, should take note and plan ahead.
Traffic, parking and shuttle service during commencement events (June 20-22) will be affected by major construction on the Northwestern campus and roadwork in Evanston and the surrounding area.
Commencement June 21
Northwestern’s commencement will be held 30 minutes earlier than last year at 9:30 a.m. at Ryan Field. Main campus parking lots east of Sheridan Road will be used by families and guests of graduates. It is anticipated that those parking lots will begin to fill up by 7 a.m. Shuttle service will be provided to and from Ryan Field.
Construction at the sports pavilion and aquatics center on the north side of campus and at the arts circle on the south part of campus have temporarily reduced the number of available parking spaces. Contractor parking will be prohibited June 21 in lots east of Sheridan Road in order to provide as much parking as possible for visitors.
Additional convocation events occurring June 20-22 will impact parking availability and traffic throughout the weekend. See a complete list of events at the Northwestern commencement site.
City Parking Coupons
Faculty and staff should use public transportation or park in lots west of Sheridan Road, such as the Engelhart lot at Emerson Street and Maple Avenue. Parking Services has obtained a limited number of coupons good for all-day parking in the city’s Church Street garage at Clark Street and Chicago Avenue. Those coupons will be available June 17 at the Parking Services office at 1819 Hinman Ave. You must be a current annual F-permit holder to receive the free parking coupon.
Shuttle Service
On June 21, the intercampus shuttle will not stop at the Central 'L' station, Central/Jackson and Ryan Field stops due to commencement. The last stop of the northbound shuttle from Chicago to Evanston will be Patten Gymnasium. Southbound shuttle service from Evanston to Chicago will begin at Sherman/Noyes.
Commencement shuttle routes will be serviced by vehicles similar to those on the daily routes so riders are advised to pay close attention to route signage.
For more maps and other information, go to the commencement site.
City of Evanston Roadwork
The following projects are underway and may cause delays to or from the Northwestern campus:
Water main replacement and street resurfacing is affecting portions of Lake Street, McDaniel Avenue, Central Street, Church Street and Wesley Avenue.
Sewer repairs on Emerson Street have closed a three-block stretch of Asbury Avenue between Green Bay Road and Church Street.
The city parking lot rehabilitation project at Central Street and Stewart Avenue has reduced traffic to one travel lane in each direction at all times.
Water main and sewer replacement work on Davis Street between Benson Avenue and Hinman Avenue has reduced traffic to one travel lane heading westbound at all times.
Contractors for the Walgreens store in the 600 block of Chicago Avenue are installing water and sewer connections. Northbound and southbound traffic along Chicago Avenue and eastbound and westbound traffic along Keeney Street will remain open but there will be daily lane shifts.
Work on the CTA purple line tracks in Evanston may cause minor delays and boarding changes.