Where will all the people go?

This was to be the main question surrounding Chicago's bid for the 2016 summer Olympics. It was the biggest concern for International Olympic Committee members because of Chicago's somewhat faltering mass transit system. And when I say somewhat faltering, I'm being extremely nice.

Anyone riding one of the seven train lines or dozes of buses during any of the rush hour periods will tell you it is not a pleasant experience. Factor in hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Olympic athletes, staff and fans, and you've got one hot mess. The Chicago Tribune reported today that no major upgrades will be necessary should the city win the bid this October.

But another issue I think the city will have to address is where will the residents of the city be moved to when the building of the Olympic stadium begins. A colleague of mine did a story about the stadiums for class last year and actually informed one of the Chicago Park District pool managers that his pool would be the location for the Olympic swimming facilities. A Chicago Sun-Times article stated the swimming facility would originally be in Washington Park and has now been moved to Douglas Park. Most of the venues, with the exception of tennis, will be constructed on the city's south side, known for its poverty and violence. I hope the city's intentions of placing the venues here will be honorable and the sites would be used for after school programs and such after the games end.

It could potentially be a repeat of what the city had to develop while tearing down the high rise housing projects. Where to put a significant amount of people for both short and long periods of time is never an easy task. Always a political hot potato question, I don't know if the city has thought about this.