The Chicago Loop Alliance deserves some praise for its plans to expand its street ambassadors program beyond State Street and into the central Loop this summer.
Downtown is its busiest during the summer, but the larger crowds also mean an uptick in crime and other assorted disturbances.
Having the ambassadors, in their yellow and black uniforms, acting as an added presence and extra set of eyes on the street as they welcome people and give directions will help downtown visitors feel a bit safer.
“Chicago Loop Alliance ambassadors provide essential services of safety and hospitality that create a sense of stability for Loop residents, workers and visitors,” the group’s president and CEO Michael Edwards said.
The good news for downtown is that tourism in Chicago appears to be on the rise this year: The number of downtown visitors increased by 35% between March 2023 and February 2024, the second-largest increase among 12 large U.S. cities, according to University of Toronto researchers, who used anonymized mobile device location data to measure downtown visitorship.
The thing now is to keep the momentum going, for tourists and Chicagoans alike.
The DNC, NASCAR, Lollapalooza and more
Two dozen new ambassadors will patrol the Loop along with the 18 who currently handle State Street.
The new teams will keep watch afternoons and evenings, five days a week from Dearborn Street to Canal Street, between Ida B. Wells and Wacker drives. State Street ambassadors monitor the thoroughfare between Ida B. Wells and Wacker seven days a week.
In addition to giving directions and keeping an eye for bad actors, the ambassadors will check in on businesses, provide information on what downtown has to offer, and help those in need of social services, Edwards said.
The ambassador teams are trained in de-escalation methods and will keep an eye out for illegal activity and “unwanted behavior,” the Loop Alliance said Tuesday.
The teams will no doubt have their hands full for the next four months. That’s because in addition to the Democratic National Convention coming to town in August, the Loop will also host Lollapalooza and the second year of NASCAR races, on top of downtown’s usual array of events and festivals.
The Loop Alliance believes the events together could bring a few million extra people downtown this summer .
“Tourism is like the number one economic engine for the loop, certainly during the summer,” Edwards told CBS2 Chicago. “We want everyone to come have a positive experience.”
Ambassadors bring a ‘level of comfort’
The street ambassadors’ presence is needed as downtown works to recover from the pandemic and a sense that the Loop is unsafe.
Other major cities such as Cleveland, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Seattle have similar programs. Downtown Louisville has had an ambassador program since 1995.
A team of ambassadors “shows you as a visitor, as a worker, as a resident that — oh, there’s someone on the street that I can talk to, that I’m meant to be here if I need anything,” Louisville Downtown Partnership executive director Rebecca Fleischaker told Louisville television station WLKY last September. “But also just by their presence, their mere visibility gives me some satisfaction and level of comfort.”
“Whether it’s raining, whether it’s cold, whether it’s nighttime — you know there is always someone out there walking and keeping an eye out for you,” James Wells, general manager of the organization that contracts out Louisville’s ambassadors, said in 2023.
It’s an important point that shouldn’t be underestimated.
The Loop — and North Michigan Avenue as well — needs a lot these days: store vacancies filled, more effective police patrols, a total rethinking that can bring new life and crowds to its major streets.
But seemingly smaller steps, such as expanding the ambassadors program, are also a key component in reviving downtown and making sure people feel comfortable enough to patronize its shops, theaters, and other attractions.
And with any luck, they’ll start to yield some big results.
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