Commuting Through Chicago (Oak Lawn, Tinley Park, Brookfield: crime, safe area, buy)

[emathias]

Originally Posted by نصار

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I actually enjoy driving through big cities. i know some people hate it because of all the chaos. but i love it lol. all the scenery and cars and huge highways.
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I like driving in cities, too, when there actually is chaos. 4pm Friday rush hour on Chicago highways, though, is not chaos. It's mind-numbingly slow stop-and-go traffic where you're trapped on the highway in your car, and you can't see all that much of interest from the highway. Other than seeing the NW skyline as you come into the city after O'Hare, there's really nothing much worth seeing from the highways that go through the center of Chicago (in my opinion).

Driving in moderately-heavy traffic, where it's still actually flowing steadily, can be fun for skilled, aggressive drivers because it can be kinda like a contest or puzzle figuring out where to go and predicting which lanes flow best, deciding how to get around slow-moving sections of traffic, etc.

But rush hour on Chicago highways isn't like that at all. There's too much traffic to make moves like that. You can get stuck in slow lanes. Predicting which ones will be slowest is almost impossible. It just plain sucks.

[VirtualAmerican]

I vacationed in Chicago over the long weekend, and although I was driving in the opposite direction than the one you're planning to go in, I got stuck on the Dan Ryan Expressway (I-90/I-94) around 4-5 PM Friday afternoon and took almost two hours to drive the 5 miles separating the Chicago Skyway off-ramp from the I-55 interchange at Stevenson Expressway. I sat there looking at U.S. Cellular Field for close to 30 minutes, at the very least. Worst. Traffic. Ever.

Then I got enough, exited at Stevenson Expwy., got on Lake Shore Drive and drove straight through downtown on my way to Rosemont (O'Hare area).

Plan accordingly.

[emathias]

Actually, if you just want to see things and are resigned to it taking a long time to get through Chicago, you could take mostly surface streets. It's slower than the highway usually, but at peak rush, at least you'll be moving and it's easier to stop or change routes if you want.

I've done this before:

After O'Hare, take Cumberland Road south to Irving Park Road east to Lake Shore Drive south to Michigan Ave south to Roosevelt Road east to Lake Shore Drive south to 57th St slightly west to Cornell Ave south to Stony Island Ave south to I-90 (the Skyway tollway) or past the tollway another 2.5 miles to I-94 (the Bishop Ford) if you want to avoid the tolls.

To save a little time you could skip the Michigan Ave detour and just stay on Lake Shore Drive past downtown, but since you said you like seeing cities I thought you might enjoy the just over 2 mile trek through the center of Chicago.

You could also cut over from Lake Shore Drive to the Dan Ryan (I-90/94) just south of downtown at I-55 if you didn't want to drive down south Lake Shore Drive. That may or may not save you any time. Best case, it might save you 20 minutes.

Doing this would probably take you 2 1/2 hours (it might take more, though) from just after O'Hare (where you exit to Cumberland) to Gary, Indiana, but it would be a lot more scenic than simply staying on the highways.

[Chicago76]

Originally Posted by emathias

I like driving in cities, too, when there actually is chaos. 4pm Friday rush hour on Chicago highways, though, is not chaos. It's mind-numbingly slow stop-and-go traffic where you're trapped on the highway in your car, and you can't see all that much of interest from the highway. Other than seeing the NW skyline as you come into the city after O'Hare, there's really nothing much worth seeing from the highways that go through the center of Chicago (in my opinion).

Quoted for truth. Driving through the city at that time will offer you views of two semis on each side of you, and allow you to take in the smells of the city, which from your position will be diesel fumes from those trucks. The most interesting sight will probably be a group of construction workers smoking cigarettes on the side of the road. You will likely be going beween 0 and 10 miles an hour for a big stretch of that trip. When you get up to 30 mph, you will feel a strange sense of exhiliration and "speed". This will last for all of about a half mile, where you will again be stuck going 3 mph for another 20 minutes.

The only mental aspect of the drive is measuring the progess of your lan against the one next to you: the car in the next lane 200 feet behind you will suddenly be 200 feet ahead of you and you will be frustrated that your lane "sucks". Then 5 minutes later, it is 200 feet behind you again, and you'll feel like you've won some sort of race.

[نصار]

Alright everybody thanks. I'll make sure to prepare myself for alot of traffic

[Chicago60614]

If you really like city driving and chaos, there's an alternative route that might be a little much, but at least you'll keep moving and might even save a little time.

Take I-90 and then get on I-294 down to Irving Park, take Irving Park straight over to Lakeshore, and Lakeshore all the way south until it ends, then take Stoney Island south until you can get on the Skyway and this will shoot you through northwest Indiana to I-94.

I-80 always SUUUUUUCKS through northwest Indiana.

[Mr Downtown]

Originally Posted by نصار

How long would it take to get from Schaumburg to lets say Gary in 4pm Traffic?

As I explained in post 3, just a little over two hours is the statistical average for Friday at 4 pm.

Schaumburg to O'Hare 13 min
O'Hare to Circle 52 min chart
Circle to 95th 24 min
95th to State Line 21 min chart
State Line to Gary 22 min chart
TOTAL 132 minutes

[psychelle]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

If you really like city driving and chaos, there's an alternative route that might be a little much, but at least you'll keep moving and might even save a little time.

Take I-90 and then get on I-294 down to Irving Park, take Irving Park straight over to Lakeshore, and Lakeshore all the way south until it ends, then take Stoney Island south until you can get on the Skyway and this will shoot you through northwest Indiana to I-94.

I-80 always SUUUUUUCKS through northwest Indiana.

There's major construction on I-80 in Illinois right now, not sure about in NWI, but yeah it will suck.

I wouldn't take Lakeshore Drive, at that time of day it will be just as slow as 90/94 around the Loop. Plus that's a long way to go on Irving Park and it will also be stop and go, due to lights and traffic. I drive from Kedzie to Sheridan on Irving Park way more than I'd like to it and it is almost always backed up at some spots around that time of day. There's not exactly much to see there either.

294 would be the best bet in my opinion.
I would say 290 to 355 to 80 if it weren't for the construction on 80.

[Manigault]

Originally Posted by psychelle

294 would be the best bet in my opinion.
I would say 290 to 355 to 80 if it weren't for the construction on 80.

If a person can follow directions and wants the scenic route, one could take I-90 to I-290 to I-55 north to Lake Shore Drive south. Then take route 41 through South Chicago to Whiting and take routes 12 & 20 to I-94 to Detroit. That's the way to see the area (and the lake!) and is not too slow even during rush hour. The route is counter to the rush-hour flow.

[sunnyandcloudydays]

Originally Posted by Chicago60614

If you really like city driving and chaos, there's an alternative route that might be a little much, but at least you'll keep moving and might even save a little time.

Take I-90 and then get on I-294 down to Irving Park, take Irving Park straight over to Lakeshore, and Lakeshore all the way south until it ends, then take Stoney Island south until you can get on the Skyway and this will shoot you through northwest Indiana to I-94.

I-80 always SUUUUUUCKS through northwest Indiana.

stoney is going to be a nightmare as well that time of day