What are the Chicago suburbs lacking? (Aurora, Naperville: live, moving, food)

[thePR]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

Depends on the suburb.
As Lookout mentions:

One correction: except for a few neighborhoods, ALL of Arlington Heights has sidewalks. Our newer (for AH) 1987 neighborhood and the ones I have seen built after, all have sidewalks and good to reasonable walking distance to parks. Buffalo Grove is also well planned for walking and biking. They usually have sidewalks and have a well planned network of biking trails connecting many parks and neighborhoods. Out here, Palatine, Wheeling, Mt. Prospect, Northbrook, Glenview, Park Ridge, Des Plaines, Elk Grove, Schaumburg generally have sidewalks and marked bike routes as well.

We could use better biking infrastructure with interconnection between towns. The Twin Cities offers a good example. Lake Co. is doing this, with the Des Plaines River trail and the circular Millenium Trail connecting it to other parks and paths. We should also have dual paths like they do in the Twin Cities area. One path for walkers/runners seperated by another path for bikers/bladers. Much safer for everyone.The on-street bike lanes should be seperated from vehicles by metal posts (like in parts of Madison, WI) to provide safer biking. Should require ALL new roads to have safe walking and biking right of ways built in. The bike lanes that are actually the shoulders of exisitng roads should also have some street sweepers clean the debris off so they can be safely used. Also could use more walkable neighborhood shopping-this is a drawback to a newer car-centric area vs. an older public transit area like Evanston.

If I could go "unrealistic" I would say a shorter winter, warmer spring; more recreational/wilderness areas closer by; more forests and some mountains nearby also.

Park Ridge does have bike paths, but no one ever uses them correctly, and how can you with the cars parked there?

[prairiestate]

You certainly don't have to travel to the city for good Mexican food. Among many places, El Burrito Loco has phenomenal food, and many locations around Chicagoland, including several throughout DuPage county, including Naperville!

El Burrito Loco

[aiwei]

Northern IL has no decent Fall weather.

[gardener34]

Yeah the older burbs have sidewalks and are much better. But seriously here, in St. Charles, there are almost no sidewalks in many areas all along randall road. And many along north ave. either. And in certain areas of West Chicago, where many of the residents are latino. They often do not have cars, and walk or ride bikes, there are some seriously dangerous stretches of route 38 that need someplace for people to walk or ride.

Kane county is generally a good bike friendly place along the Fox River trail and people are now very used to seeing the bicyclists. But along army trail road, from the fox river trail, the most direct way to get between bike paths is riding along Army trail and there are NO shoulders of any sort.

The WORST most oblivious drivers are in parking lots, esp. those darn "lifestyle" or strip malls - where you have to walk to all the stores. No one stops for pedestrians in those malls. I hate the parking lot in Geneva commons - you take your life in your hands crossing from the parking areas to the stores there.

[prairiestate]

Originally Posted by aiwei

Northern IL has no decent Fall weather.

Actually, Fall may be our best season. More often then not we can count on lots of pleasantly warm days and sunshine well into October.

[via chicago]

Originally Posted by prairiestate

Actually, Fall may be our best season. More often then not we can count on lots of pleasantly warm days and sunshine well into October.

Agreed, people just like to *****. Last year we had warm weather well into November. Personally, I love days like today.

[via chicago]

Originally Posted by prairiestate

You certainly don't have to travel to the city for good Mexican food. Among many places, El Burrito Loco has phenomenal food, and many locations around Chicagoland, including several throughout DuPage county, including Naperville!

El Burrito Loco

Anywhere that serves a burrito the size of your head can not seriously be considered "authentic" Mexican food.

[tully]

Originally Posted by Oakenfold

Chicago lacks topography, it's flat.

Nail on the head.
It is stunningly flat, and difficult to get a sense of the enormity of Lake MI without being in a high-rise. (go to points north - like Milwaukee - with rolling topography and lake bluffs; the difference in the 'impression' of the Lake is pretty striking)

[Irishtom29]

Originally Posted by via chicago

Anywhere that serves a burrito the size of your head can not seriously be considered "authentic" Mexican food.

I dunno, it seemed to satisfy the Mexicans I often saw eating at the one in Bolingbrook.

[Irishtom29]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

If you're looking for Tex-Mex, you won't find great places in Chicago. But if you want authentic Mexican food from various regions in Mexico, Chicago is wonderful for that. You just have to know where to look (and it's not Lincoln Park, Naperville, or Downers Grove).

Ruby's in Romeoville is pretty good; Mexican owned and Mexican customers. I used to get the carne tampiquena. The owner opened a pretty good breakfast place next door but he neglected to give it a Wicker Parkish cutesy name like "muffin" or "jelly".