Which commute is better - From Huntley or Burr Ridge to Cicero/Peterson area (Chicago: rent)

[KMHFoster]

My husband just accepted a job near the intersection of Cicero and Peterson (just off 94). We have family friends in Burr Ridge and family in Huntley that have both offered for him to live with them temporarily until I make the move (after the first of the year). From Huntley, it looks like the best option would be to take the Metra from Crystal Lake to the Irving Park station. From Burr Ridge, it looks like taking 294 N to Irving Park is the best option.

The commute from Huntley to Irving Park would be about 1:45 including drive time to the station. The drive from Burr Ridge is 29 miles but I have no idea how long that would actually take on an average day. Another option from Burr Ridge is 55 E to Cicero, north almost to 90. So many options!

Any feedback you can offer would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

[chet everett]

First you can scratch the idea of ANY of these options as truly "better", more appropriate to ask "which is least horrible,

I am inclined to rule out taking Stevenson to Cicero as that would be absolutely miserable to drive way way way too farninto Chicago and then taking a very heavily traveled artetial stret for too much of the trip.

That leaves driving from Burr Rige to Peterson vs really awful combo rail / drive / bus journey. I would not wish either on an enemy but I think Burr Ridge to Petreson will be slightly shorter, figure a bit over an hour in the AM and probably 90 minutes PM.

Once you move you will want to live close to Peterson, maybe someplace like Skokie, Niles, Morton Grove...

[KMHFoster]

The office is less than half a mile from the Irving Park rail station, so he would probably walk from the train to work, if that helps clarify the Huntley option.

Thanks for the reply, Chet!

[chet everett]

I don't care if the office is the train station, the relative speeds on 55 to 294 and then the Kennedy are not going to bog down to the point where it would take 1:45 unless there is MAJOR weather event or some VIP visit closes the expressway at rush hour (thank you Joe Biden. Has only happened once.)

[KMHFoster]

I evidently had the address wrong. The office is definitely NOT near the Irving Park rail station. It is actually near Peterson and Pulaski. What would be the best way to get there (from Burr Ridge)? 294 to 90 to 94 to Peterson? That route makes me want to puke just looking at it...lol.

Here's hoping we sell our house quickly so we can rent nearby!

[chet everett]

The drive is not the worst in the region. In the mornings you don't even get on the Edens, Cicero runs parallel to the Edens and you just drive north on the surface streets. Evening you would jump on the Edens, take it to Kennedy, then Kennedy to TriState, TriState to Stevenson. All expressways. Google is pretty optimistic on travel times, off peak that say 30 some minutes, push that to hour or more rush hour. Still better than Huntley...

[pvande55]

Even if you plan to drive most days you should become familiar with public transportation for those days when weather triples your travel time. I believe there is a park and ride in Burr Ridge with express buses (authorized to ride the shoulder) to the loop. Then Milwaukee North to edge brook, walk or ride the bus the rest of the way. Sounds like a waste of time? Probably beats sitting in traffic for hours.

[chet everett]

In all seriousness to suggest that Pace service that relies on the SHOULDER for "express lanes" is a viable option on days when weather might triple one's travel time shows an utter lack of understanding of what happens when that sort of snow event chokes the roadways into impassable nightmare scenario.

While it is honestly something that does happen maybe a couple times every 3-5 years it is worth understanding how these things transpire. First it pretty much has to be a snowfall that happens DURING THE LATTER HALF of the work day. If it happens overnight the snow crews can clear the roads, if it happens in the AM lots of people just work from home. Only when people are already stuck at their workplaces AND the snow crews are unable to get enough equipment on to the streets to salt and plow away the muck will this be a real issue.

When this does happen the shoulders become IMPASSABLE as the lane dividers themself basically VANISH and idiots start driving 5 or 6 across where there are only 3 or 4 legal lanes.

Often rail service is negatively impacted too becuase the switches get covered with ice and the trains cannot travel at full speed so they often have to cancel / merge scheduled trains.

Buses have literally gotten ABANDONED on roads like Lake Shore Drive -- people have had to walk to safety.

Hopefully this sort of thing will not happen to the OP and they'll have the good sense to eventually move closer to work. Should they be with their friends in Burr Ridge when a turly major snow event hits I would recommend making every effort to contact the employer as early as possible and getting the OK to work from home / take a personal day becuase BELIEVE ME it would be utter madness to think an exceedingly round-about multi-modal trek on public transit would be a wise move under such circumstances.

[KMHFoster]

We'll be renting in a northern suburb as soon as we sell our house out of state and I move to the area, so I think we just need to weigh the commute between his temporary housing options with our family/friends. Sounds like Burr Ridge is the way to go.

Fingers crossed that our house sells quickly! Thanks for the replies, everyone