RSS
Home
You can get there from here in the Chicago 'burbs
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Living in the suburbs of Chicago has its benefits. The streets are clean, most of the housing is well-kept, and it seems that a representative of every chain store in the universe is neatly established in massive malls with plenty of parking.
But if you need to get to, say, Elgin for work and you live in Aurora, you will commute five or six hours a day on public transportation. Unless you live in one station and work in the other, it would be a good idea to keep a car at both ends of the trip to avoid a hair-raising walk before and after work. And that’s when the weather and Daylight Savings Time cooperate.
The system serves The Loop and the city well, but to get from suburb to suburb chances are good you will do so by way of The Loop. This is why to get from one western suburb to another takes hours. And hours. And hours. As one dissapointed public transportation user put it, "I can’t get there from here, no matter where ‘there’ is."
Here’s one example. If you live in Aurora and work in Elgin, you must drive to the closest Metra station, ride to The Loop, change trains, ride to Elgin, and drive to your destination. The route takes at least two and a half hours. There are no north/south trains or buses that cut across any point in the route to reduce commuting time. In comparison, driving north from Aurora to Elgin takes between forty and fifty minutes, in one car rather than two.
There is reason to believe the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and Regional Transit Authority (RTA) know this and are taking steps to improve north/south routes that would cut commute times. However, the fact remains that "you can’t get there from here" will be a fact of Chicago life for some time to come.
What this means for the disabled
With proper planning, the disabled can be comfortable in the suburbs, Some accessible housing with convenient transportation is available, there are delivery services for some commodities, and paratransit is a possibility if you qualify (check out http://www.disabledinaction.org/ada_para_case.html for more information about self-advocacy in paratransit).
Living in the city and commuting to work in the suburbs is also possible, given the way the transit system works at present. There is still the trip from stop or station to the place where you actually work to consider, but some of the larger employers have shuttle services. However, if you are dependent upon public transport, be sure you are familiar with some of the concerns about accessibility (check out http://www.chicagotalks.org/2009/05/12/investigation-finds-handicapped-accessibility-issues-plague-cta/ for details and a list of stories about investigations).
But living in one suburb and commuting to another daily requires a lot of effort and planning if you are disabled. You may or may not have a good experience with paratransit for daily commutes, so consider car pools; however, be aware that there are not that many of them and some people may not want to ride with you because you are disabled.
It is difficult to get information about suburban disabled commuters, so if youhave succeeded at living in one suburb and commuting to another, you brave soul, please comment below. Others in the same situation need to know.
Related Articles:
Comments
