Pedestrian traffic in Chicago. (Rockford, Joliet: how much, taxi, live in)

[TKramar]

How easy is it?

The town I live in, if you cross at a light, it's not enough that the road you're trying to cross has red lights, you've got people making right and left turns and it makes it hard to get across.

Are there the same issues in Chicago?

It's funny, I asked someone about how much a taxi would cost from Union Station to LaSalle, and they told me, "It's only about a mile...you could walk it." Well, yeah, I could--but for one, time is of the essence, and two, I don't know my way around. If I lived there year round, then I would know.

My stepsister lives down by Joliet, and I have to switch trains--but there's no immediate connection between Union Station and LaSalle station.

[crackerjack123]

If you have to walk a mile, you could take a bus. But if you can walk a mile in less than 30 minutes, and you've got some free time, then you are probably better off walking. Most of the time, the roads around here are flat. That's my experience. So, you don't have too many uphill walks.
bus fare information:http://www.transitchicago.com/travel...s/default.aspx

I think it's easy to be a pedestrian in Chicago. In Rockford, people would honk at me and stuff. When I was growing up in Rockford, I thought those kind of people must have been from Chicago. No, I'm thinking. I'm thinking those were out-of-state people now. People in Chicago give pedestrians the right of way without too much bitching.

Now driving in Chicago is a different story. There are a lot of *******s who like to make U-turns out of nowhere, and you might get into an accident that way.

[Mr Downtown]

Chicago drivers (except the yahoos in from the suburbs) expect and yield to pedestrians when turning. Not as respectfully as Californians, but well enough.

Taxi from Union Station to LaSalle Street Station should be about $6. It's only five blocks. If you're arriving on a weekday afternoon, there are three trains daily from Union Station to Joliet (on Metra's Heritage Corridor rather than its Rock Island District).