What jackets should I pack for Chicago?

[sygyzy]

Hi,

I will be visiting the windy city Thurs - Sun and wanted to know if it'd be better to pack (pea) coat type jackets or technical shells like Marmot, The North Face, etc? I know it'll be raining and cold. I have a hoodie, a peacoat, and a raincoat right now. And gloves and a beanie.

Also, are there any other tips you'd like to share? I won't have a car so I am hoping the bus and train system is easy to understand. I will get a visitor train (and bus) pass when I get there.

Thanks.

 

[jaqie]

Layers and windbreakers, and a set of gloves would be handy as well. Put a windbreaker over a hoodie and another coat/swater/etc and you will be plenty good even in the wind. The CTA is very good, if a bit old system, and it's not too difficult to understand. The only confusing thing is when you get into the suburbs, the bus routes there are a bit...wierd, especially around brookfield/cicero area, or were when I last lived there. A hint: take the EL (subway) and Metra whenever you can, it's much faster and more efficient then taking the busses everywhere... and if you get on the redline going south don't let yourself fall asleep and go too far, unless you happen to be black. it's really dangerous for white folks too far south.

 

[Billb2]

Sears Tower Observation deck ...at night.

 

[K1052]

Originally posted by: jaqie
Layers and windbreakers, and a set of gloves would be handy as well. Put a windbreaker over a hoodie and another coat/swater/etc and you will be plenty good even in the wind. The CTA is very good, if a bit old system, and it's not too difficult to understand. The only confusing thing is when you get into the suburbs, the bus routes there are a bit...wierd, especially around brookfield/cicero area, or were when I last lived there. A hint: take the EL (subway) and Metra whenever you can, it's much faster and more efficient then taking the busses everywhere... and if you get on the redline going south don't let yourself fall asleep and go too far, unless you happen to be black. it's really dangerous for white folks too far south.

A couple things to note about the CTA:

They are doing major work on the Blue (O' Hare branch) and Red Line (subway) that can in include periodic closures and reroutes of those lines.

They post these changes here: http://www.transitchicago.com/news/whatsnewa.wu

 

[sygyzy]

Thanks for the tips guys. This sounds like a weird question, but I noticed on the TransitChicago website you can enter a starting and ending address and it'll show you how to take public transportation there. The problem is it'll never say "just cab it" or "walk, it's not that far."

Once I get there and have maps in front of me, is it pretty logical how the lines run? I tried looking at them online and the PDF's are huge and there is one for each neighborhood. It really slows down my computer and it's hard to scroll around to get the "bigger" picture.

Also, does anyone know of any mobile sites where I can check up on local Chicago stats like delays, train closures, weather ... downloadable mobile subway and metra maps?

Thanks!

 

[Ryan]

GL - got my first taste of the CTA system this past weekend - seemed pretty painless getting around, the morning commute sucks with all the people, but it still works.

 

[Billb2]

And the trains going to the north (both Metra and CTA) are more crowded than usual with the Edens (I-94) repair work going on.
3/3 lanes down to 2/2.