Parking/Train Station in Wrigleyville/Lincoln Park/Lakeview (Chicago, Union: apartment complexes, houses)

[and1playa2007]

Hi everyone,

I will be moving to Chicago next summer and was wondering what the parking is like in these neighborhoods?

Ideally, I would like to move into an apartment that has its own parking lot (pref. covered but I'm not sure what is the norm) and that is within walking distance to a train that could take me to the northern suburbs.

Could anybody give me an area (streets/blocks or specific apartment buildings) that have these? These two things are very important to me in my apartment search.

[chitown85]

The parking situation varies widely. There are so many apartment houses and complexes, it would be impossible to even list a few. Not sure where you are moving from, but generally the "covered" parking in Chicago is different than covered parking in the south and southwest.

In the south and southwest, it is not unheard of for parking spaces to be underneath regular (small) apartment complexes or built on the ground with a roof overhead.

In Chicago, the apartment buildings are smaller (except for the highrises) and are built right onto the street. This means that in smaller buildings, which dominate Lakeview and Wrigleyville, you usually have 2 options. Street parking, where you have to gauge the block you are on if this is feasible, or pay for a spot in a private parking garage.

The street parking gets better if you are on side streets, away from the major commercial arteries.

Lincoln Park is a mix of smaller buildings and large highrises. The highrises tend to have parking for a fee and the parking is located underground on the first few floors of the building. Street parking is dependent again on the location, if it is a quiet side street, or Fullerton Avenue for example.

As to the train, all METRA suburban commuter trains leave out of Union Station/Ogilvie which are connected. This is located on the near west side. There are a few north side stops, but it depends where you are working for which train you take.

I am aware of only a few METRA train stops on the north side, but they may not go on the lines you need. Where are you working?

It is hard to live on that city of the city and take the METRA train to the northern suburbs. It is possible, depending on where you need to go and if your office is walking distance or provides a shuttle to the suburban METRA station.

The closest METRA station to Wrigleyville/Lakeview is Ravenswood which is north of there. It is also off the CTA Brown Line. If you live near a Brown Line stop, you could take Brown line to Ravenswood and then catch the METRA train, but allot plenty of time since the METRA trains don't run frequently from city to burbs.

The closest METRA to Lincoln Park is Clybourn and it is not near an L stop.

[tonythetrout]

This has already been discussed...

//www.city-data.com/forum/chica...hborhoods.html

[chirack]

You have got two problems with this situation.
Problem 1 commuting to the north burbs. Metra is more for people coming into the city for work than for people leaving the city for work. Make sure that metra’s schedule lines up with your work schedule and that you have a way to get from the Metra station to where you are working. What burb you are gong to is also important so that we can make sure you don’t have a long drive or bus ride to the Metra station.

Problem 2. Parking in these neighborhoods is generally bad. Expect to pay up to $300 a month for parking in some places.