I just noticed tonight that long-term lot E (the main one) will be closed until August 1 "due to construction", with directions to use lot G.

Um - Lot E is HUGE and lot G is TINY!

Anybody know what's up? Could be a loooong couple of months.

I can only tell you that on the morning of 5/30 @ 5 a.m. you could NOT park in Lot E. They had the entrances blocked by vehicles, and if for some reason you snuck through they had a message board that read "No Parking - - Violators will be Towed".

I am hoping that once they purge the lot they can do their work in phases and reopen portions of Lot E?

This is lousy... I have a 6pm flight there next Friday and my parents refuse to use Avistar, Thrifty or any of the other valet services.

Thanks for the heads-up.

And, in true chicago fashion - the official ORD website says nothing about lot E being closed for two months.

I'm flying out Monday and if E isn't open, I'm taking a limo. Website says everything is open and no press releases. Nice.

The WHOLE E lot!?!?!?

The E lot frequently fills up during the week as it is. I anticipate lots of full garages this summer, and me in a cab.

Resonding to this message and the one above. Yes, the signs indicated that it was the ENTIRE LOT, and indeed there is nothing on the website. I e-mailed them to suggest that perhaps they should put something there, but I've had no response to that question.

Maybe the signs were misleading, but it seemed clear "Lot E will be closed until August, if you park here you will be towed". I don't see how that could be misinterpreted.

Just a brief update. As of 6/1 at 9 p.m., YES THE ENTIRE E-LOT IS CLOSED. The much smaller G-Lot across the street was pretty darn full.

Changeable message boards were directing traffic to the F-Lot. This lot has been closed for the past few years?

I've sent two messages to the O'Hare Parking people, asking what's going on, but have had no response. There is info about a "cell phone lot" at F, that wasn't there yesterday. That text says:

Cell Phone Parking Lot

O�Hare International Airport now offers a Cell Phone Lot for motorists waiting to meet arriving passengers. Motorists will be able to park in the lot at no charge and wait for a call from their arriving passenger before driving to the front of the terminal for pickup. These convenient waiting areas eliminate the need for circling the airport repeatedly if an arriving party is later than expected, ultimately resulting in less roadway traffic and congestion, less air pollution, and increased auto fuel savings.

The 150 space lot is conveniently located at Economy Parking Lot F. Exit I-190 at North Mannheim Road, and follow the signs to Economy Parking F/Cell Phone Lot. The lot is located less than four minutes from the Central Terminal Area and easily accessible by all motorists.

Vehicles in the Cell Phone Lot must be attended at all times. Violators will be ticketed and towed at the owner�s expense.

Lot F was closed after 9/11, ostensibly because it was "too close to the runways" which has always been a mystery to me since E and G are clearly closer. I've seen F used upon occasion as overflow space, but it has been generally closed. I'm not surprised they're using F to replace E, but I'm still mystified by the lack of information.

Thanks to someone else's sharp eyes, there is now - finally - something on the ORD site. It says:

**ECONOMY Lot E PARKING Alert
There will be on-going construction beginning May 31, 2006 until August 1, 2006 In Economy Lot E. During this time, space availability within the lot will be limited. When Lot E reaches capacity, customers will be directed to Economy Lots G and F. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Necessary improvements are being made to this lot to improve your parking experience. Thank you for your patience during this time.


Wonder when they'll tell us what those "necessary improvements" are!!

I was at ORD yesterday waiting to pick up a friend, and stopped by the lot to ask a couple questions. I was told they'll be resurfacing the lot, and that the hope is to re-open one section at a time as they're completed.

It should be open in phases according to the 'trib. Basically a third of the spaces closed through July 22nd in lot E.

Yep - there was an article in the Trib. this morning that said essentially this, and even gave numbers of places in each section. This is good news, but conflicts with what the signs said the other day which were simply "Lot E closed 'til August", nothing about partially open, just closed. So, good to know it might not be quite as bad as I thought.

I can deal with it if Lot F is open. I miss Lot F, Lot G isn't quite the same as the bus pattern through the lot is wacky and you have to deal with all the cabbies on Bessie Coleman Drive. I used to always find a parking space right in front of the eastern-most bus stop in Lot F, which was coincidentally the midpoint of the bus trip through the lot.

I believe that Lot F was originally closed so that the extra security staff could have their own parking lot.

I'd been avoiding Avistar during the summer because they don't have a prorated day structure and most of my trips at this time of year are 3 days and 4 hours - so the E lot and Avistar end up to be the same price. I typically use Avistar during the winter so I don't have to schlep out to my car in the cold, but I might have to use it this summer as well.

It appears that a large portion of Lot E (north of train) is now empty. They were rolling in the paving equipment at 5 a.m. this morning. Depending on exactly how they phase it, I could see them getting portions of Lot E reopened pretty quick.