Rush hour commute times to downtown from northern suburbs (Chicago: townhouse, construction)

[silicagal]

I'm moving in from out of state and need to start looking for a place to live asap. I've spent countless hours searching the net and these forums for the info I need without any luck so I'm finally posting here.

My husband will be working in North Chicago. I want to be able to commute to either Feinberg Medical downtown (Chicago Ave. and LSD) or possibly (if all else fails) to U. of Chicago (hyde park).

We want to live in a safe residential area (in a house or townhouse) and it looks like Forest Glen up to Deerfield/Highland Park might work but I have no idea what the actual rush hour drive time would for me to downtown or for my husband to North Chicago.

If anyone commutes from any towns between Forest Glen and Deerfield/Highland Park to either downtown or North Chicago area please let me know what your actual drive time is, it would be very helpful.

Thank you very much!

[pvande55]

Deerfield to Downtown Chicago: 48 minutes by express train. Driving, probably 1-1/2 hours. Deerfield to North Chicago, about an hour. In the Chicago area, you should try to be within 10 miles of work, or on the same Metra line. Unless you work such odd hours you commute outside the rush-hour.

[JRNetwork]

Pvande55 is right, keeping to the same Metra line will make your commute considerably smoother and quicker.

If you're considering the northern suburbs, keep in mind that the University of Chicago is on the south side, which means more commuting time. Though, the University does run an express bus route from the University Hospital to the downtown commuter train stations (Union Station & Ogilvie Station) and it takes about 20 minutes to go from Union Station to the University.

Taking the Metra south to the University would be more of a hassle... the Metra route that serves the University leaves from a station that is quite a decent walk away from the stations that serve the north side. Map

[reppin_the_847]

Given your parameters, and depending on your budget I'd definitely lean North Shore for your housing choice. If you're working downtown (and not Hyde Park), I'd go with Highland Park, Deerfield, Glencoe, or Northbrook. If you're working in Hyde Park, I'd try to get further south (ie. Wilmette or Evanston). Forest Park seems like it could be difficult, especially with how rough the Eisenhower Expressway (290) has been lately. Plus Forest Park to North Chicago is a hike, whereas say Highland Park to North Chicago is a complete cakewalk. Metra access to downtown is decent from most of the North Shore, but gets to be lengthier obviously the further north you are. At least we're not talking Lake Bluff.

Originally Posted by silicagal

I'm moving in from out of state and need to start looking for a place to live asap. I've spent countless hours searching the net and these forums for the info I need without any luck so I'm finally posting here.

My husband will be working in North Chicago. I want to be able to commute to either Feinberg Medical downtown (Chicago Ave. and LSD) or possibly (if all else fails) to U. of Chicago (hyde park).

We want to live in a safe residential area (in a house or townhouse) and it looks like Forest Glen up to Deerfield/Highland Park might work but I have no idea what the actual rush hour drive time would for me to downtown or for my husband to North Chicago.

If anyone commutes from any towns between Forest Glen and Deerfield/Highland Park to either downtown or North Chicago area please let me know what your actual drive time is, it would be very helpful.

Thank you very much!

[silicagal]

Thanks to all who replied to my post. I drove out to see the areas for myself and to figure out which towns to look for a house in. While I was there I was able to drive a couple of commutes and I thought I'd post the drive times here in case anyone in the future wants this information too. Unfortunately I was only able to do a couple evening commutes and no morning commutes. Hopefully I'll get to do that on my next trip out.

On Thursday April 22, 2010 I started at the far east end of E. Superior St. in downtown Chicago near the lake at 4:55pm and drove to Deerfield, IL via the Kennedy then Edens arriving at 5:38pm. Times when reached:
The Kennedy I-90/94...5:05pm
The Edens...5:24pm
Edens exit 41...5:27pm
Edens exit 35...5:32pm
Edens exit 30...5:38pm
There was no traffic on the Edens northbound at this time. There was considerable traffic in the southbound lanes. Traffic on the Kennedy was slow going but moved like the 210 freeway in California, which is to say the average speed was 20-25 mph but it kept moving. I was on the express lanes which seemed to move much better than the local lanes. I remember seeing a sign which said 26 minutes to O'hare, which would have been about 40-45 minutes from downtown where I started. Not too bad if you ask me. I would like to add that I reached downtown coming up I-90/94 from the south from Indiana. The traffic inbound from the south between say 3:00pm and 4:30pm was the worst traffic I saw while there. It was very stop and go, with the "go" only being 20 mph at most. Very slow going, and the constant stopping got old fast.

On Friday April 23, 2010 I started at Buckley Rd. and Highway 41 in Lake Bluff, IL at 5:55pm and drove south to the Kennedy arriving at 6:47pm.
Times when reached:
The Edens...6:09pm
Edens exit 34...6:14pm (this is where traffic began)
Edens exit 37...6:24pm
Edens exit 39...6:33pm
Edens exit 41...6:40pm
Edens exit 43...6:47pm
I didn't continue onto the Kennedy towards downtown because it wasn't relevant to what I was trying to time and that's where all the traffic was going. It's clear from what I saw, at least in the evenings, the traffic is worse into the city than outbound, and my realtor said this is because of the express lanes which are open in the morning inbound and evening outbound. So those doing the reverse commute thing, living in the city and commuting out, would have a tougher commute from what I saw.

[pvande55]

There are several reasons traffic from the northern suburbs is bad in the evening rush. For one, many people are going into the city for entertainment. And there is some through traffic, though most of it is probably on the Tr-State.

[ks-man1]

I live in Deerfield and do a reverse commute every day heading downtown around 4:30pm. The travel time can vary a lot depending on the day, events going on, weather etc. I get on 294/94 and take the Edens spur/Edens/Kennedy to downtown. I'm pretty satisfied with anything under 1 hr. with the regular (not average) being around 50 mins. It is very rare to be down in the 35-40 min range at that time of day and 75 minutes while not normal but does occasionally happen.

Now for the bad:

Construction - Summer means construction and a lot of major projects are starting now. It hasn't hit too much for this trip yet but once the Wacker project starts I expect it to get worse

Evening baseball games - If the Cubs or Sox are playing at night expect the time to go up. Thankfully the Cubs don't play many night games at Wrigley, but when they do it gets ugly.

Weather - Like most places, people forget how to drive in bad weather, and if the snow is falling fast get off the roads or you'll be sorry. Two years ago I was stuck on the Edens and it took me 4 and a half hours to get downtown!

Fridays - Thankfully I don't need to drive down Friday afternoons but expect to add an extra 20-45 mins on Friday. More people on the roads.

This is a great website Gary-Chicago-Milwaukee Corridor for quickly checking travel times. I find it to be as accurate as a constantly changing situation can be.

[ks-man1]

It seems like the weblink isn't posting, probably I don't have enough posts, but just copy and paste the link to your browser.

http://www.gcmtravel.com/gcm/ChicagoQuickTraffic.jsp

[mprimmm1]

Possibly relocating from Atlanta to Chicago for work. Work location in Northbrook, IL. Looking at possible location to live in Hyde Park. Does anyone have any idea about the traffic going to Northbrook in the morning hours?

[cubssoxfan]

If you are working in Northbrook, why live in Hyde Park? Why not live farther north?