Would you guys agree with the directions below that I rec'd from the tripsweb website? This is from the apartment at 30 E. Huron to Chief O'Neills at 3471 N. Elston:

Walk to Chicago & Wabash
Take CTA bus #66 Chaicgo westbound to Chicago and Milwaukee

Take Blue line train (to O'Hare) to Addison stop

Take Bus #152 Addison eastbound to Addison and Albany

Walk .2 miles to N. Elston

Is there a way to take the train all the way without taking a bus too?





http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34704411

Sandi - I can't comment to the safety of the neighborhood, but a couple quick map checks will give you the info you need.

Plug your ending address into google maps to see where it is physically, and go to www.transitchicago.com/maps/maps/F2005N.html for an el map of that area. You can see from both that the el stop is right where Addison and I-90/94 intersect and that Chief O'Neills is about 3/4 mile away to the east and slightly south.

If you also look at the el map http://www.transitchicago.com/maps/maps/F2005D.html you can see your starting location. You could walk to the red line el at grand (maybe 1/2 mile) and take it south to washington where you can transfer to the blue line.

If you're trying to avoid the Chicago Ave bus, you can catch the Red Line at Chicago & State, about a block north of your apartment. Take it toward 95th Street and, as jlm said, transfer at Washington. You can also walk to the Blue Line at Clark/Lake. It's about a mile.

I will say this, the Addison bus does not run that often, and stops running pretty early, if you want a late night bus you'll have to head down to Belmont (2 1/2 blocks south of the Elston address).

how can I find the schedule for the Addison bus to find how often it runs?

http://www.transitchicago.com/maps/bus/bus.html

find #152

i agree with the poster who suggested the red line. Take the red line up to addison and then either take the 152 bus or cab it for the 3 miles to elston.

To be clear - the first poster who suggested the red line suggested taking it south and changing at Washington for the purpose of catching the blue line.

The second poster (ssachida) who suggested the red line suggested taking it north to Addison, and catch the Addison bus #152 going west for about 3 miles, or catching a cab. Just wanted to clarify that there were two very distinct suggestions.

FYI- it would be MUCH, much easier to catch a cab at the Red Line Addison stop than at the Blue line Addison stop.

aschie30 - very true, although the occasional taxi has been known to come along at the Blue line Belmont stop (I've taken a taxi from there a few times), but they are MUCH fewer and farther between each other.

I don't think there is a way for you to get to this place without taking the bus unless you want to go for a bit of a lengthy walk.

For my own curiosity, are those suggesting that it can't be done without a bus generally not inclined to walk 3/4 mile, or is there something specific in that area making it a bad idea?

Generally, I'd gladly walk 15 minutes rather than wait for a bus any day, but only if it's safe, so I was just curious.

It's a safe neighborhood. Elston Avenue slants from the SE to the NW, so it can be a little confusing.

I walk quite a bit every day (I often average about 3/4 of a mile just to get to the train in the morning) ... but I was just being considerate of a newcomer who might not be up for it. Personally, I'd probably just take the Blue line to Belmont and walk there, but that is just me.

Thanks for your consideration but we are walkers and have no problem walking many miles a day..and plan to. I just don't care to take a bus a short distance to then get to the train..I'd rather walk to the train.

JLM_MI- You can walk the 3/4 miles from the Addison stop to Chief's but it's not a great walk - not unsafe by any stretch, but it's along a busy urban street (Addison).

Sandi- FYI - If you want to walk to the blue line in lieu of the #66 bus, it's about a 1 1/2 mile walk along Chicago Avenue. I like walking, too (and have made that very walk to the train from the Mag Mile), but it is a substantial walk.

If you want to avoid taking the bus to the train, then you might want to take the red line from State & Chicago to Addison, and then either catch a cab there, or take the Addison bus to Albany.