Early AM commutes to the South Side (Chicago, Evanston: condo, homes)

[Castro Viejo]

Hi all,

I'm planning on a move from New York City to Chicago in a few months to take a job at the U of C Hospitals. I'm settling on the North Side somewhere, but haven't figured out exactly where just yet.

In any event, being a life-long New Yorker, I've always relied on the subway to get me around town. While I'll have a car with me in Chicago, I'd like to try to commute to the U of C for the most part to save a few trees and a few bucks in my wallet.

I've talked to a few Chicagoans-turned-New Yorkers who love the city, but hate the CTA and think it's inefficient and dangerous for the most part. I really hope this isn't the case, but I was hoping for another set of opinions from my future neighbors on this forum.

What's your opinion of the following options to commute from the North Side to Hyde Park for 5:30AM starts and a day that ends about 8-9PM?

Bus? I don't even really know which route to take. Is there a direct one?

L? I've heard the Green Line to Cottage Grove Ave/63rd St is dangerous and the walk up Cottage Grove Ave can be bad.

Metra Electric? I've been told by some U of C alum that the walk alongside the U of C campus and the Midway Plaisance (59th St I guess) can be bad as well.

Bike the LSD?

Car? I'd really rather not, but I suppose I may have to.

Thanks in advance for your opinions. I'm really excited about the move. I'm just hoping to find a cost-effective public transit option that's efficient and safe.

[Drover]

Did you ever consider living in Hyde Park?

[Castro Viejo]

Originally Posted by Drover

Did you ever consider living in Hyde Park?

I did. I've been to Chicago a bunch of times and though I like Hyde Park and the area around the U of C, and have lived in similar neighborhoods in New York City, my wife hasn't and she's only known living in Manhattan in high rises and so the North Side is more to her liking. Besides, for a couple in their 30s, there just seems to be so much more happening up around River North/Rush Street/Gold Coast. It'll also be closer to a job she's taking in the Loop, so I'd rather her commute not be bad and suffer myself.

Thanks for the reply!

[Drover]

Well, I guess you could ride your bike to work, but that'd be about an 8 mile ride each way. You can bet that'll suck in January when there's an icy wind blowing off the lake. Then you'll know what it's like to be stabbed with 382 needles at once. Short of that, you may just have to deal with the slightly harrowing (though not completely awful) walk from the 63rd St. Green Line station or the less harrowing walk from the Metra station, though the latter walk would be nearly a mile and the former might not be advisable during the evening hours around 8-9pm.

There is a bus that you can take from just south of River North and drop you off pretty much right in front of the U-C hospital, the X4 (http://transitchicago.com/maps/bus/bus/4.pdf - broken link) (CAUTION: pdf file). It runs 24/7. I suppose it has an added measure of security of having not making you walk up to a mile, plus there's a bus driver right there as opposed to a train where there's no authority figure around, whatever difference that might make -- maybe a little more of a deterrent.

[Manigault]

At 5:30 am you may want to consider driving. Free or reduced parking is available around the hospital. I hope you have researched the websites for the times that the various transportation modes are in operation. I would suggest you take the Metra to 59th and Stony. It's 3/4 mile to the hospital from there but a scenic walk and there is a bus available at night. This does mean you have to transfer between lines downtown and it is not a free transfer. At night I would take bus #55 on 55th street to the red line on the Dan Ryan (not the terminally slow green line). This also is a viable early morning option and is preferable to the green line.

You should realize that the public housing at 63rd and Cottage is being emptied for rehabilitation. One thing about 63rd and Cottage or 59th and Stoney: If you feel threatened, the UC police patrol both areas and will provide you with 'umbrella' service. They won't give you a ride but will watch your back as you walk. Perhaps you could bring a bike on the train?

[NYrules]

While public transit is an option, I hope you have had the chance to venture into the area that surrounds University of Chicago off to it's west. If this is the same University of Chicago I am thinking of, the area is pretty much like a de-militarized zone (very bad). While the University of Chicago's campus itself is very nice and very safe, there is a large ring of bad areas that surrounds the campus of which are terrible. If you are taking the Dan Ryan Flyer and then plan on riding a bus over to there, you really need to reconsider if you value your life. Sorry, I'm calling it like it is.

The area is not somewhere I would want to be out walking around in or waiting for a bus at a stop after dark and if you are working at the college, of which I would assume since you are there are going to be some nights you will be getting out of work after dark.

Now, from what I remember, there is a Metra station at 53rd St at Lake Park Ave??? Correct me if I'm wrong, but that hood and that station is MUCH better and safer vs the el and bus, and with the condition of the CTA, I would much prefer to take the Metra. (trains running late if at all, busses being cut, trains derailing) That line (Metra) runs into Grant Park, but I think there are ways to connect to other trains to go elsewhere in the city.

Another thing I would like to mention, while I understand that you may be set on living on the north side for whatever reason, I would STRONGLY suggest you look into some of the southern suburbs if you are going to be working at U of C. There are plenty of nice burbs on the south side that are just as nice, if not nicer than areas like Skokie or Evanston such as Oak Lawn, Evergreen Park, Palos Heights, Palos Hills, Oak Forest, Orland Park, Tinley Park, Homewood, Floosmoor, Hickory Hills, all of which are less than an hour commute to U of C and at about half the cost housing wise. The Dan Ryan Expressway is expected to be fully open for business here in the next few months FINALLY, and that being said, your commute by car would be only about 30 minutes from those south side towns.

Your time is worth money and all I know is that I would much rather be commuting only an hour a day, vs three.

[Manigault]

I find the previous post to be uninformed about the area. If the hospital is at 59th and Cottage and there is an express Metra stop at 59th st why get off at 53rd? Also, the red line at 55th (Garffield) and the Dan Ryan is used quite often by the UofC students after dark after jaunts on the north side.

It is inaccurate (and pretty useless to this discussion) to comment that there is a large ring of bad areas that surround the campus which are terrible, because it is just not so.

[NYrules]

Originally Posted by Manigault

I find the previous post to be uninformed about the area. If the hospital is at 59th and Cottage and there is an express Metra stop at 59th st why get off at 53rd? Also, the red line at 55th (Garffield) and the Dan Ryan is used quite often by the UofC students after dark after jaunts on the north side.

It is inaccurate (and pretty useless to this discussion) to comment that there is a large ring of bad areas that surround the campus which are terrible, because it is just not so.

Actually I am very familiar with the area having to go there for work many times as they are one of our customers, I'm just not too familiar with public transit as I refuse to use it so that is why I was unsure of where the train station was.

I am a driver type of person and would rather have my own vehicle at my disposal than having to wait on someone else's schedule. As for the area being A OK, um have you ever driven down streets like 59th or 63rd between the Ryan and the school? Abandoned buildings everywhere, vacant lots with trash strewn all over, and boarded up or barred windows on many of the homes. You're right, its a great area! It's the next Beverly Hills or locale for Trump Tower. LOL!

[Manigault]

As a matter of fact I was in that area Wednesday. There are a number of vacant lots but not many abandoned or boarded-up buildings. There is new construction near 58th and Calumet, the block of 'Studs Lonigan' and James T. Farrell fame. But that area does not encircle Hyde Park. I also have a friend with a condo at 59th and King Drive. Its quite a nice residence and she takes rapid trans or drives to her loop job.

More to the point, Hyde Park is surrounded by Oakwood, Woodlawn, Washington Park and the Lake. None of these areas are terrible and they all are experiencing new construction and gentrification. I agree that you seem "just not too familiar with public transit".

[Castro Viejo]

Thanks for the great responses!

I kind of always thought the Metra or the bus would be the way to go, but I may be leaning more toward the Metra. Perhaps I can take my bike onto the train with me and ride the 3/4 miles over toward Cottage Grove and the hospital.

Or maybe I'll just bike the LSD when it's nice out. Anyone know if there are any bad elements to the LSD at the early morning hours or nighttime?