Today's Penguins parade proved a challenge for Downtown commuters and parade-goers alike.

With fans arriving as early as 4:30 to take positions along the route, roads were closed early in the morning rush, and buses and cars carrying workers had to find detours. Fans also reported long waits at light-rail stations, as packed trains passed them by.

The Port Authority promised to have more light-rail cars in service for the afternoon to take fans home, and the agency said it expected buses to be back on their normal routes by 3 p.m.

That didn't happen everywhere, however, as Stanwix Street, much of the Boulevard of the Allies, Grant Street and Ross Street remained blocked after 4 p.m. for cleanup and barrier removal.

Police had blocked off the Boulevard of the Allies around 2 a.m. so the finishing touches along the route could be added and the reviewing stand at Stanwix could be completed. But commuters said they had difficulty getting through other streets before the official 9:30 a.m. detours.

Doug Ward -- whose office in the United Steelworkers building is right at the end of the parade -- could not exit at Stanwix Street as usual, so he had to drive clear around the city and travel onto Route 28 North before looping back around and getting out of his car blocks from the office. The usual five minutes it takes to park took 45 minutes this morning, the Shadyside man said.

Kim Haraburka, 50, of Monroeville, knew she was in trouble when she saw crowds already gathering on the route on a 7 a.m. newscast. "I thought 'Uh Oh, let's get going,' " she said.

Hundreds of fans and other riders waiting for public transportation along the South Hills T line were frustrated when they waited an hour or more for a train.

Many arrived at the Dormont Junction stop before 10 a.m. and had to wait until 10:55 before a train picked them up. In that hour, three double-car trains did not stop because they were packed full of passengers. One double-car train stopped and picked up only a few passengers who could squeeze their way on.

"Our tax dollars hard at work," said William Zuppan, 52, of Mt. Lebanon. "This is a total lack of foresight and planning. They made the announcement on Saturday that the parade was going to be today. They don't have the common courtesy to give us the additional transportation to get to the parade."

Many others, from many more miles away, were equally frustrated.

Jake Rossler, 23, made the 2 1/2 hour drive from Cleveland in the wee hours of the morning with two friends for the sole reason of attending the parade.

"I'll be pretty ticked if I drove all this way and didn't get to go," Mr. Rossler said. "We'll wait a little while longer. We'll make it there somehow."

Mr. Rossler and his friends had followed the advice of the city officials, who encouraged fans to take public transportation into Downtown for the parade.

John Krill and Nick Jones, of Bridgeville, left Dormont Junction after the third double-car trained failed to stop. They decided they were doing to drive their cars closer to the city in hopes of getting to town before the start of the parade.

"The Port Authority should plan for this stuff," Mr. Krill said, before bolting to his car.

The Port Authority will provide extra T service this afternoon for the commute out of Downtown, said spokesman Jim Ritchie, but there will be no extra bus service.

But things got a little complicated when the Gateway Center T station was closed shortly before 3 p.m. after a rider awaiting a train in the jam-packed station passed out. Paramedics were summoned and police blocked the entrance to the station. They did not know when the station would reopen and directed riders to the Wood Street stop.

This morning, the Port Authority provided four extra two-car T trains, he said, correcting earlier statements that there were no extra light-rail vehicles in service. He acknowledged, however, that the system was overwhelmed for a while. No extra bus service was added this morning.

Due to the detours, more than 50 bus routes were affected this morning, Mr. Ritchie said. He added that the Port Authority expects a return to normal service by 3 p.m.

Statistics for today's ridership are not available in real time, he said, but "we always see a spike in ridership for events like this."

Commuters can access the updated traffic conditions to get traffic updates.