Q about mass transit (Chicago, Wheaton: apartment, employment, transfer to)

[TheMac]

Okay i've been pouring over the mass transit maps, trying to figure out if i could live in Chicago without a car. I think I can, but i wanted to get the view from some locals on how feasible this would be...

From the looks of things, if i lived in Oak Park, i could commute downtown on the blue line or green line from Oak Park, and I could commute out to Carol Stream from Oak Park on the Metra system. Is this accurate? If it is, how feasible is this for use each day?

Any help would be great, thanks.

On a separate note, how is the area out near O'Hare on the the blue line, like the Harlem/Jefferson Park/Montrose area. Does this area have a nice residential section or no?

Thanks again!

[Drover]

Mass transit in the city is pretty comprehensive, but the key to efficient mass transit is living near an CTA L station and having most of your destinations also be near an L station, preferably on the same line. That's most likely to happen if you live on the north side.

Mass transit in the suburbs sucks unless you can drive or walk to a Metra station and you work downtown, or if you live downtown and work right near a Metra station. There is a suburban bus service called Pace but it has HUGE coverage gaps and many lines run infrequently. Personally, there's no way in hell I'd try to commute to Carol Stream without a car.

The Harlem/Montrose area (I believe that's Harwood Heights) is nice enough, but it's basically suburban in form and feel. In fact that is a suburb -- there are two suburbs up on the northwest side (Harwood Heights and Norridge) that border each other but are otherwise surrounded by the city on all four sides. Jefferson Park is more urban but you still won't mistake it for Brooklyn. It has a good mix of apartment/multi-unit buildings and SFHs.

[TheMac]

Thanks for the response.

Yeah thats kind of what I figured. I mean I have a car and everything, but I kind of want to sell it. The Metra line would drop off about 2.5 miles from where I need to be in Carol Stream, so that'd be a somewhat doable walk.

Does the Metra/L allow you to take bicycle's on board?

[Drover]

Not during rush hour.

Oh, and that "somewhat doable walk" would add at least another 45 minutes to your commute each way, by that time you're looking at spending nearly every waking moment either at work or getting to or from work.

And how "doable" would that walk be in winter? Do you even know if there are sidewalks between the station and your workplace?

[supernerdgirl]

btw Jefferson Park is NOT a suburb, it's actually a city neighborhood.

(I'm only pointing that out because I have a friend who is downright CONVINCED that it IS A SUBURB no matter how many times I tell her it's not.)

[Avengerfire]

^ You might have to kick her in the head a few times. If she states that in public, people are going to think your friend is retarded and may, by extension, think you are as well! ^

[oakparkdude]

Are you sure you can commute from Oak Park to Carol Stream by public transit. It depends on where you job is located. You would have to take the Metra to (probably) Wheaton then transfer to a Pace bus that hopefully goes close to your job. If your job is located close to a Pace bus route, its definitely doable. I see lots of Metra riders get off at Wheaton and transfer to buses.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by sukwoo

Are you sure you can commute from Oak Park to Carol Stream by public transit. It depends on where you job is located. You would have to take the Metra to (probably) Wheaton then transfer to a Pace bus that hopefully goes close to your job. If your job is located close to a Pace bus route, its definitely doable. I see lots of Metra riders get off at Wheaton and transfer to buses.

Wheaton has no particularly dense employment center. The DuPage County government center is probably the largest site for employment, but it is hardly a place that has massive number of workers.
The other large employer in Wheaton that is almost walking distance from the Metra station would be Marianjoy Rehab hospital, it is around a mile from the station and I could imagine a lot of folks heading that way as it is just south of Roosevelt.

Central DuPage Hospital is technically in Winfield and one of the few hospitals in DuPage Co that is truly walkable from the Metra stop (it is about four blocks from the WINFIELD stop, no need for bus unless the weather is bad...)

If these folks are taking to Pace to any point in Carol Stream or other points north I suspect they are heading to domestic spots and their total transit times are quite high... " + theTitle + "

[oakparkdude]

Chet, well "lot" is relative of course. Wheaton is definitely no Ogilvie, but on my reverse commute, Wheaton definitely has the plurality of disembarkments. No idea where they go, but a quick peak at pace website shows multiple buses which stop at Wheaton metra.

[colinhayes]

a 2.5 mile walk is absolutely NOT doable in winter. The L does allow you to take you bike as long as it's not 7-9am or 4-6pm during the week.