Traffic choked chicago (Atlanta: 2013, neighborhoods, gated)

[doublenickels]

The "rush hour" in the city of chicago is 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. Mon. through Fri.

[dewthedru]

No way. It's one of the easier big cities to navigate around. Ever tried to move around DC, LA, Boston, Atlanta, Portland, etc?

[Jesse69]

Manila traffic is way worse. Chicago is very bearable.

[LakeShoreSoxGo]

All bets are off on the holidays.

[chet everett]

The rush hour does tend see travel times soar, but the peak is really only about 7am to 9am mornings and then 4pm to 6pm evenings. Most areas with heavy concentration of shops (excepting certain north side neighborhoods where the unfortunate mix of cars and older buildings leaves little room for parking) manage traffic quite well -- roads are wide, stoplights are synchronized, turn lanes are plentiful.

If you have access to Metra or other public transit instead of sitting in traffic you can relax a bit...

[williepotatoes]

Originally Posted by doublenickels

The "rush hour" in the city of chicago is 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. Mon. through Fri.

It's true that traffic in the city is getting worse than ever in my opinion, but the layout and design of Chicago allow for a lot of creative solutions. If you know the territory, you can snake your way around a lot of the bad spots. The plethora of side streets and alleys in Chicago make for quick escape routes at the last second.

A typical drive thru the city for me usually results in many spontaneous detours.

[Manigault]

Originally Posted by chet everett

If you have access to Metra or other public transit instead of sitting in traffic you can relax a bit...

Verily I saw that thou art correct....

[chet everett]

...and folks using side streets as an alternative to thoroughfares are why so many folks have gotten their alderman to ok those awful speed bumps, but the relative abundance of bridges and viaducts to cross over rivers / under rail yards means that getting around bottlenecks is a lot easier in Chicago than other cities of similar age / size. We also have a decent mix of surface streets compared to freeways too -- in some cities it seems every possible route for a freeway has been buyout out so that trying to cross over / around / under them turns some viable neighborhoods into islands pinned in by asphalt. While I am sure that folks in Rosemnt would not trade their little gated wonderland for something less exclusionary, if the result of putting in the Crosstown Expressway would be (might have been) more such cut off developments / lots more cull de sacs, thank goodness it has not happened.

Of course the trade off is that places on the southeast side that really could benefit from some development are pretty much inaccessible without a car and you still need GPS / courage to understand where you are going...

[doublenickels]

Look at a geographical map of Chicago, showing the location of the "loop" (downtown including N. Michigan ave. shopping area), Lake Shore Drive, and I-94 (Kennedy). At one point, it all converges within two miles east to west. It is a total disaster trying to go north or south, MOST of the time, during weekdays. Not to mention "festivals", marathons, Bears games etc. Traffic is so bad in Chicago, regular neighborhood streets are becoming a nightmare.

Originally Posted by dewthedru

No way. It's one of the easier big cities to navigate around. Ever tried to move around DC, LA, Boston, Atlanta, Portland, etc?

[Silversides]

Originally Posted by doublenickels

The "rush hour" in the city of chicago is 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. Mon. through Fri.

Some days you're correct. Other days, a miracle seems to happen and the roads are just a pleasure to travel on.

I've lived in Chicago area for 50 years and could never detect any pattern to help me know when the good days are. (or the terrible ones either for that matter)