Evanston-Skokie Community Consolidated School District 65 recently issued the following announcement.

On Friday, October 18, the Northwestern Wildcats are hosting the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ryan Field. This game is significant in that it’s the first FRIDAY night game hosted by Northwestern in many years. This is also a scheduled day of school for District 65 students. The large influx of visitors to Evanston will likely cause an impact to student dismissal, especially for schools located in north Evanston. While the game doesn’t begin until 7:30pm, parking lots will open at 3:30pm. 

District 65 is working in collaboration with the Northwestern Department of Athletics, City of Evanston, and Evanston and Northwestern Police Departments to ensure the necessary safety measures are in place. We have included a couple of important notes below:

 

• All schools will dismiss at the regularly scheduled time and school operations will continue as usual on this day. Afterschool childcare through the School Age Child Care program will be offered. 
• We anticipate heavy traffic and congestion around the stadium and on the main streets including Green Bay Avenue and Central Street. It is likely that there may be a delay to students returning home, especially those who ride the bus. 
• Travel, especially by car, may be difficult on this afternoon starting as early as 3:00pm. We encourage limiting unnecessary travel and walking/carpooling, if possible. If you pick up your child from school, please allow additional time.
  • Ashland between Lincoln and Central is one way northbound beginning at 5:30pm that day, It is one way northbound between Central and Isabella at approximately 3:30pm
  • Curbside parking restrictions on streets adjacent to Ryan Field will also in place from roughly mid-afternoon through the game.
• There will be increased police presence to help direct traffic in the impacted areas and additional crossing guards will be present. 

Please know that the game schedule is developed by the Big Ten Conference and is not determined by Northwestern University. We look to receive additional updates in the coming weeks leading up to the game and will be sure to pass important information along to the community. We do apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause. Thank you for your understanding

Original source can be found here.