Commute time from Oak Park to Countryside? (Chicago, Joliet: apartments, home)

[Funky D]

Hi all,

I'm relocating to the Chicago suburbs in the near future (currently in Milwaukee) for a new job in Countryside. I'd like easy El access to get downtown on the weekends, and my search led me to Oak Park. I checked out some apartments today and the area is beautiful, but when I asked one of the landlords about traffic during the weekdays he said it gets pretty bad (the obvious route from Oak Park to Countryside seems to be Harlem to Joliet). I've been looking at apartments close to the blue line and a few near Lake St, but I'm guessing Lake gets pretty bad during rush hour.

Can anyone comment on this commute? I was hoping for a 30 minute drive, but if this area is anything like the North side I know how busy the side streets can get during rush hour. A Google traffic search claims 290 to 294 isn't too bad in my direction, but then I'd be stuck paying tolls every day.

I drove the route today in about 20 minutes... hoping for some insight and alternate routes during rush hour.

I guess I'm not completely set on Oak Park, but the area did seem really cool and reminded me a bit of my current location (Wauwatosa, for any of you familiar with the MKE suburbs).

Thanks for any advice!

[chitown85]

From Oak Park, in the morning 30 minutes, home maybe 45 at most. The best way is Harlem Rd. to Joliet Rd. The Ike to the 294 is a nightmare regarding traffic in the afternoon, morning appears to be not as bad from Oak Park. If by Lake Street Blue Line you mean near River North, the downtown traffic is bad. 290 is absolutely terrible from downtown to Harlem, even in the morning. Though if you leave early enough, you should be ok. The afternoon into downtown is equally terrible. That being said, going from Oak Park to downtown on the El on weekends isn't as easy as one would think. The trains are not 24 hours, and can be dangerous, especially after a night of having fun. If you want a more active social life, go with River North and commute the extra 20- 30 minutes each way.

[JBVirtuoso]

I'm pretty sure that the OP was talking about the blue line in Oak Park, and Lake Street in Oak Park. The blue line does run 24 hours, but the green line does not. Before writing off the 'L' as dangerous, the OP should probably try it him/herself. Of course, it's always safer to take a cab if you're returning home at a late hour (after 11 pm for me), but it's not like the 'L' to/from Oak Park is dangerous all the time. Everyone has a different standard of safety, so it's really hard to say if the OP will feel comfortable on the trains.