What are Chicago’s Best Places to Get Away From Car Traffic?
Last month occasional Streetsblog writer Shaun Jacobsen noted on Twitter that widening North Lake Shore Drive, a possible scenario for its impending reconstruction, would be a huge step in the wrong direction, and it’s a shame that the drive currently detracts from most of the lakefront parks and beaches. “Why can’t we have one part of the city where you can’t hear cars?” Jacobsen wrote. A Bronzeville resident named Jamahl replied:
This is why most of my favorite lakefront parks are on the far South Side. I hear nothing at Calumet Park. https://t.co/QTXBCg2ZRF
— Jamahl. (@TheFreeXone) July 20, 2018
I chimed in that I like Montrose Beach for the same reason — it’s so far away from Lake Shore Drive that there’s virtually no highway noise. Then, via the Streetsblog Chicago account, I asked our readers for their favorite places in Chicago to take a break from the noise, sight, smell, and stress of motor vehicle traffic. Here are some of the responses:
- Dan Ryan Woods
- Garfield Park Conservatory
- “Any dingy bar works.”
- “The transfer bridge at Ashland/Lake on the CTA Green/Pink Line. One of the best views of the city.”
- Paddling out to the middle of the lake
- Graceland Cemetery
- Alfred Caldwell Lily Pond
- Humboldt Park
- “A walk along the river from Avers/Foster all the way to Lawrence/Sacramento”
- Skinner Park
- The Art Institute’s gardens
- The front porch of the Hideout
- Wooded Isle and the Osaka Japanese Garden in Jackson Park
- Northerly Island
- Park 566
- Hegewisch Marsh
- Big Marsh
- The North Shore Channel Trail
- Tobey Prinz (Pratt) Beach
- The Stingray lagoon at Shedd Aquarium
Read the full Twitter thread here.
What are your favorite car-free hideaways? Let us know in the comment section.
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