Investigating Villa Park, Lombard and Glen Ellyn (Chicago, Wheaton: cul-de-sac, homes)

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by chet everett

There are some parts of Glen Ellyn that are more convenient to parts of Lombard, but there is absolutely a GIANT multi-lane tollway that limits access across it to a handful of arterials. There is no way that anyone can violate the laws of physics and get anywhere at rush hour in "5 minutes tops".

The relative hassle of relying on arterials like Roosevelt or St. Charles is a major drawback to developers in Lombard...

Dude, I actually live here and do this all of the time. People will take Crescent or Hill Avenue to get to downtown Lombard in five minutes. It really is five minutes, I'm not exaggerating. Okay, maybe seven or eight.

Also, we're talking about restaurants and shopping, not rush hour driving here. Not that rush hour is that bad on Crescent or Hill... Unless you are doing it during Glenbard West drop off/pick up.

[holl1ngsworth]

Wheaton and Glen Ellyn enjoy the easiest back-and-forth, perhaps a lot like La Grange and Western Springs.

Crescent in Glen Ellyn makes the trip to downtown Lombard relatively painless, but there just isn't a whole lot happening there. If you wanna get at the amenities by Yorktown (big chain restaurants and mall in south Lombard) it's more often than not a hassle -- and one that can escalate quickly.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth

Wheaton and Glen Ellyn enjoy the easiest back-and-forth, perhaps a lot like La Grange and Western Springs.

Crescent in Glen Ellyn makes the trip to downtown Lombard relatively painless. But there's just not a whole lot happening in DTL. If you wanna get at the amenities by Yorktown (big chain restaurants and mall in south Lombard) it's more often than not a hassle -- and one that can escalate quickly.

I think the question was more about getting to downtown Glen Ellyn from Lombard.

Either way, I very infrequently have any trouble getting anywhere in any of these towns. If you want to avoid traffic, alternate routes are nearly always available. I have figured out ways to bypass the busy parts of Roosevelt and Butterfield and 53 at nearly every time of day, and VERY RARELY encounter traffic snarls of any kind.

[chet everett]

As I said, there are some parts of town that are more easily accessed. The traffic on Hill or Crescent is far less than Butterfield or Roosevelt, but the relative ease of access to either of those routes for the majority of Lombard addresses is going to be fairly small compared to the addresses that are accessible via roads like Roosevelt.

The fact is even a fairly straightforward trip, like from the Lombard Pharmacy to a spot like Thipi Thai in Glen Ellyn is basically double your "five minutes tops" -- https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Thip...76!2d41.870733

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by chet everett

As I said, there are some parts of town that are more easily accessed. The traffic on Hill or Crescent is far less than Butterfield or Roosevelt, but the relative ease of access to either of those routes for the majority of Lombard addresses is going to be fairly small compared to the addresses that are accessible via roads like Roosevelt.

The fact is even a fairly straightforward trip, like from the Lombard Pharmacy to a spot like Thipi Thai in Glen Ellyn is basically double your "five minutes tops" -- https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Thip...76!2d41.870733

You picked a location halfway between two bridges with multiple stop lights. Google maps is good with many things, but not short trips on local roads.

I still say five minutes. Maybe seven or eight. It's a quick easy pain-free trip regardless, unless you encounter a freight train or school pick up/drop off.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

You picked a location halfway between two bridges with multiple stop lights. Google maps is good with many things, but not short trips on local roads.

I still say five minutes. Maybe seven or eight. It's a quick easy pain-free trip regardless, unless you encounter a freight train or school pick up/drop off.

I know the patterns of traffic between the two towns. It drives development in a whole bunch of ways. A former business partner of mine was a dentist in Lombard. He would often lament that he could not attract as many Glen Ellyn clients as he would like because of the situation with trains and bridges. Things have changed with I-355, but there is still is a strong tendency of folks with more affluence to cluster in Glen Ellyn and not frequent Lombard.

I admit to choosing pretty much the most illustrative pair of destinations -- despite being under four miles the google maps accurate show the travel time to be about 10 minutes. While this might not be a "deal killer" it certainly is rather less convenient than sticking "in town"...

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by chet everett

I know the patterns of traffic between the two towns. It drives development in a whole bunch of ways. A former business partner of mine was a dentist in Lombard. He would often lament that he could not attract as many Glen Ellyn clients as he would like because of the situation with trains and bridges. Things have changed with I-355, but there is still is a strong tendency of folks with more affluence to cluster in Glen Ellyn and not frequent Lombard.

I admit to choosing pretty much the most illustrative pair of destinations -- despite being under four miles the google maps accurate show the travel time to be about 10 minutes. While this might not be a "deal killer" it certainly is rather less convenient than sticking "in town"...

Depends on parking. Also, for things like health care there may be a perception that Lombard is more "downscale", which you may care about more for a dentist and less for a slice of pizza.

I have never avoided anything in Lombard due to inconvenience of getting there.

[holl1ngsworth]

I'm with chet. Most Lombard addresses are going to be *relatively* inconvenient to downtown Glen Ellyn. Unless situated close to Crescent. And getting through Villa Park to Elmhurst via the major arterials can be a real pain as well.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by holl1ngsworth

I'm with chet. Most Lombard addresses are going to be *relatively* inconvenient to downtown Glen Ellyn. Unless situated close to Crescent. And getting through Villa Park to Elmhurst via the major arterials can be a real pain as well.

Relative to what? I know for a fact that many people in Lombard use amenities in Glen Ellyn all of the time, whether it's a church, a gym, Trader Joe's, or restaurants downtown. I don't think the fact that it's ten minutes or maybe even 15 from a distant corner of Lombard is going to change that. If you live in Lombard you will probably go to Glen Ellyn for various things.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Relative to what? I know for a fact that many people in Lombard use amenities in Glen Ellyn all of the time, whether it's a church, a gym, Trader Joe's, or restaurants downtown. I don't think the fact that it's ten minutes or maybe even 15 from a distant corner of Lombard is going to change that. If you live in Lombard you will probably go to Glen Ellyn for various things.

It is kind of a primary tenet of current urban planning that the core shopping areas have to place pedestrians FIRST. The recent rebuild of the Lombard overpass helped go a long way toward that as the old underpass was a hideously drippy, dark thing that look more like a place for Jack the Ripper to find his next victim than anything that was pedestrian friendly, yet the whole reason for the overpass is to speed along the flow of CARS. Similarly, despite the fact that the toll authority and the Forest Preserve cooperated to build bridges for the Prairie Path to cross over the chasm of the toll road there is not a consistent schedule of snow removal or similar maintenance to make it a "year round" amenity to allow bicycles and runners separate access away from vehicles...

These sorts of things are a major factor in way some towns develop a nice mix of walkable businesses and others do not.


I do think that Lombard has strong potential to improve its downtown core, but they've also missed the boat on a whole lot of opportunities -- DuPage Theatre gone, not forgotten - tribunedigital-chicagotribune