Commuting from Grayslake to Brookfield (Arlington Heights, Gurnee: home, live, trains)

[srcmantilla]

Hi, I'm new to the area and am looking at getting a job at the Brookfield Zoo. The metra doesn't really seem like am option so I would probably be driving. I did a search on Mapquest and it says it should take about an hour and 6 minutes. My question is if this is about accurate or would the traffic make it so much longer. I'd probably be leaving around 6AM. Any help would be great.

[cubssoxfan]

In normal traffic it's about 45-50 minutes from Arlington Heights to Brookfield Zoo. From AH to my parent's its 35 minutes non-rush hour. I would estimate you need to add 20 minutes to Map Quest time. Evening rush hour north on 294/94 gets heavy and going west from 94, as well as many Lake County roads, gets heavier during rush hour.

[Chummy Waters]

src, I'd suggest books on cd for that commute...or perhaps you can nap in a stable or something until traffic dies down. Grayslake might as well be Wisconsin, why live there? Maybe you can get Six Flags in Gurnee to start up a petting zoo or something.

[chet everett]

Depending where you are starting from in Grayslake, the commute could be considerably longer. Both morning rush hour and evening commute home would face some serious challenges. Getting to 294 means quite some distance on the fairly crowded surface streets of Lake County. Of course 294 itself has heavy traffic volumes, but then getting from 294 to 1st Ave means using the Eisenhower with its very very heavy traffic volumes. From the Ike you'd have go through the crowded area of Maywood, where the traffic from the VA hospital and Loyola often gets backed up by trains near 22nd St. . You even to deal with a few residential blocks before you hit the Zoo. Do the whole thing in reverse every night and you are pushing 100 miles a day. More like 75-90 minutes each way in average 6am traffic, maybe 2.5 times in a snow storm. Do the lions and tigers get extra angry if you are late for breakfast?
Lots of wear and tear on your mind as well as the vehicle!