Traffic in chicago..? (Sheridan, Grant Park, Pittsburg: mover, condo, how much)

[PittsburghNate11]

So how bad is traffic really in chicago during morning and rush hour..??
I'm relocating from Pittsburgh which has mild traffic but just alot of BS roadwork and delays. I've heard chicago traffic isn't that bad. Let's say I lived in lakeview and commuted to the industrial area far southeast. Us-41 Lake shore drive is about 40 minutes, I-94 is about 38 minutes? Let's say I traveled these routes around 7-8 am..?? How much of a delay would you suffer..??

Also what's a better route Lakeshore drive or I-94..?

[chirack]

Bad durring rush not so bad non rush if your hours were like 10-6 or something you would advoid it. However at 7am rush traffic is pronounced and will be around till 9. If you left at 6am you would make a much faster trip. Don't know what I would do for the return trip

Basically rush hour in chicago means take the normal travel trip and double it. From the circle to 95th on the dan ryan can take 30-50 mins in rush but outside of rush it is more like 20 mins.

Also if you are going to the south east from lake shore drive it might be smarter to skip I94 and take Stoney Island. I am assuming you are head to the ford plant(in town). or the area around it If you mean to the south east in the burbs then I94 makes more sense. Lakeshore drive will mover better than I94 on the north side but I94 on the south side(dan ryan) is faster when traffic is down. It really depends on where you need to work.

I live sorta south east near where the expressways split from I94.

Another big problem will be finding parking where you live. lakeview has bad parking, make sure you have somewhere to park your car.

Honestly what I would do is live to the south east and just party on the northside on the weekends or live on the south side somewhere like brige port or hyde park.

[Drover]

Chicago traffic is way worse than Pittsburgh traffic. The good news is that the one part of town where the reverse commute is a lot more tolerable than the "traditional" commute is the south side. If you get a place in Hyde Park (which is where you were looking last I heard) and you commute toward the south end of town, you should find traffic flow to be relatively tolerable both toward your workplace and back home. But if you lived in Lakeview, your commute toward and through downtown would suck pretty hard. Given where you'll be working, I wouldn't live any further north than the South Loop area if I were you.

[chirack]

Read the other thread about your location. Lake shore drive is best becuase you would have to head east from I94 and if you are already east like Hyde park or lakeview no point in lossing that. I would take Lake shore drive to Stoney. Stoney till 95(or 103rd) and then head east to torrance.

From bridge port I would take I94 south till 111th and head to torrance.

edit...grr my sense of direction needs an upgrade:

From Lakeview I would take lake shore drive to 94(if it is non rush) the traffic moves much faster on 94(non rush).

[chet everett]

...southeast! I suppose this is encouraging, as it suggests that maybe Ford has filled all the slots it can with folks hihgh up on the seniority ladder that tend to be older and more into the,uh, Gander Mtn., aspects of things loving in NW Indiana.

On the other hand, maybe you'd have great pick-up lines: "What do you do for a living? Well, I do the stuff that made America the envy of the world, I take flat steel and bend it into something beautiful and fast, that men drool over and woman swoon, how about you? Oh, marketing. That sounds nice..."

[Chicago60614]

My good friend lives in Lakeview and works at the BP facility in Whiting. He can get there in about 40 minutes by taking Lakeshore drive, then continuing on US41 until he gets into Indiana.

If he's in a rush he can take Lakeshore to Stoney Island to the Skyway and that's normally 30 minutes at rush hour. He leaves a bit early though, the only areas with any traffic problems are Lakeshore from Roosevelt through Chicago Ave.

[Rewind4]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

My good friend lives in Lakeview and works at the BP facility in Whiting. He can get there in about 40 minutes by taking Lakeshore drive, then continuing on US41 until he gets into Indiana.

If he's in a rush he can take Lakeshore to Stoney Island to the Skyway and that's normally 30 minutes at rush hour. He leaves a bit early though, the only areas with any traffic problems are Lakeshore from Roosevelt through Chicago Ave.

Lakeview to the Skyway in 30 min? It can take up to 30 min just to drive out of Lakeview. Maybe not at 4:30 am averaging 70 mph, though...

Anyway, Chicago can get pretty rough during our rush hour(s). For the past few years, I've noticed the traditional "reverse commutes" seem to suffer from increasing congestion and travel times as well.

[jdiddy]

Originally Posted by Rewind4

Lakeview to the Skyway in 30 min? It can take up to 30 min just to drive out of Lakeview. Maybe not at 4:30 am averaging 70 mph, though...

Anyway, Chicago can get pretty rough during our rush hour(s). For the past few years, I've noticed the traditional "reverse commutes" seem to suffer from increasing congestion and travel times as well.

Eh...in the morning, even if you were on the farthest west edge of lakeview, it shouldn't take more than 15 min to get on LSD.

Lake Shore Drive, for the most part, flows pretty well all the way through the morning rush most days. So 40 min sounds pretty reasonable to me.

[Rewind4]

Originally Posted by jdiddy

Eh...in the morning, even if you were on the farthest west edge of lakeview, it shouldn't take more than 15 min to get on LSD.

Lake Shore Drive, for the most part, flows pretty well all the way through the morning rush most days. So 40 min sounds pretty reasonable to me.

It doesn't flow that well "all the way through"; LSD can get pretty congested southbound from North Ave until around Grant Park. Also from entering it at Hollywood until Foster it's tied up both directions with the merging lanes in the morning.

[Chicago60614]

Originally Posted by Rewind4

Lakeview to the Skyway in 30 min? It can take up to 30 min just to drive out of Lakeview. Maybe not at 4:30 am averaging 70 mph, though...

Anyway, Chicago can get pretty rough during our rush hour(s). For the past few years, I've noticed the traditional "reverse commutes" seem to suffer from increasing congestion and travel times as well.

I dunno, he lives at Aldine and Broadway, and when I've hitched rides into the loop in the morning with him we can jump onto Lakeshore at Belmont within 3-4 minutes from his condo. Just head down Aldine to Sheridan and then hop onto Lakeshore.

Lakeshore is normally pretty good except through the Grant Park lights. Then shoot straight down to the end of Lakeshore, through the park, down Stony Island and onto the Skyway to Indy Blvd.

I take the #135 bus in the morning at rush, and we move pretty good on Lakeshore. Must faster than I thought we would when I first started taking that route.