Mayor Emanuel has moved back into his Ravenswood home and rode the Brown Line to work today.
“Got on the train and got to work in 30 minutes, short order. That is a competitive advantage for the city,” he said.
I hopped on the Edens Expressway this morning and got to my office in River North in 25 minutes, a fairly typical commute from my home in Wilmette. Our CEO, Mike Scotty, pulled into the parking lot right behind me after a 25-minute commute from his home in Oak Park.
When the mayor lived in Wilmette there was more traffic headed to the city than outbound to the suburbs. Nowadays the outbound commute is worse, with traffic heading to jobs in the northern suburbs. Is that a competitive advantage for the city?
In an amusing twist on this story, the CTA Tattler reports that thieves snatched an iPod at the Montroe stop shortly after the Mayor boarded his train.
Well, there is weather considerations and parking costs, gas, insurance and car maintenance when primarily driving.
My wife and I primarily drive, and both our businesses are in the city. However, we enjoy the option of public transporation or driving whenever we want. We chose to have our house in the city mostly due to commute times.
We found the cost of homes in the suburb locations we would consider coupled with longer commute times did not trump the options we were able to get in the city.
The “third rail” of course is schools, but we are very satisfied up to high school level right now and things may be better down the road… and some privates are an option too if staying in the city.