CHICAGO -- Obama family sightings used to be common in Hyde Park, and many residents walked by the presidential candidate's home on a regular basis without thinking much of it.

No longer.

Since late August, concrete and steel barricades have cordoned off Barack Obama's block -- and a sizable stretch of the perpendicular streets on either side of it -- in this Chicago neighborhood. Viewed on an unremarkable Monday afternoon, 51st Street just south of his home was guarded by five Chicago police squad cars and at least six uniformed officers, plus plainclothes guards and Secret Service personnel. Concrete traffic barriers and steel crowd control fences closed off the sidewalk in front of Obama's house; across the street, passersby were partitioned off by a line of steel fences and told by guards to keep moving.

Locals on their way home from work, shopping and school said the new measures are a significant inconvenience, but one they are willing to put up with to ensure the safety of their hometown senator and hands-down electoral favorite.

"I think they're going too far," said high school student Jerman Freeman, 14, who -- along with four friends -- narrowly missed being hit by a car as he stepped into traffic to cross the street away from the barricades on his way home from school. "It's not like I'm going to rush Obama if I see him on the street. They should at least have crossing guards for us. But I want him to be the next president, so if this is what they need to keep him safe, it's okay."

Jay Poston, who lives in a complex across the street from the Obamas' corner, said the measures "will definitely take some getting used to." She remembers more relaxed days when, she said, she would see the Obamas on the porch and her daughter was a counselor in a program attended by one of Obama's daughters at the local Jewish Community Center.

"They're probably keeping track of all our visitors and comings and goings. My phone's probably tapped right now," she said, only half-joking. "It's strange to see all this. But that's the way of our world."

Signs prohibiting parking, stopping or standing along the stretch of 51st Street south of Obama's house have been installed, and the local bus stops have been relocated. Belinda Stewart, a 47-year-old building services worker who lives nearby, noted this will make the already difficult parking situation even worse, especially once winter snow restrictions kick in.

"They should give us permits so people who live nearby can still park on that street," she said.

Michelle Gilbert, 47, an attorney who lives several blocks away, is a member of the Jewish reform temple across the street from Obama's house, inside the barricades.

"At first people were asking me if something was wrong at the temple," she said. "Some people didn't even know he lived there, but they do now."

Thanks to the changes, she has had to keep reminding herself to go straight instead of turning when she drives home, she said, and changed her dog-walking route.

"I don't mind," she said. "It's not a big deal to the dog."

By Kari Lydersen, The Washington Post, September 15, 2008