City Streets: Chicago, IL

[laziiidan]

What a great video of Chicago! Brings back fond memories...

[Freewayjim]

@laziiidan Thank you!

[jhout978]

I'm originally from Boston but moving to Chicago to be with my fiance very soon. Watching this makes me miss it there. Thanks!

[RT378]

And yeah, Lower Wacker was real interesting in the 70's and 80's before they cleaned it up. My father used to manage a building that had access down there, so i would roam around. Have no idea what he was thinking letting me do that.

[RT378]

Chicago is a grid, so it's fairly easy to drive. But it is city driving. More aggressive than the suburbs when congested. It has a rhythm to it, and once you get used to that, you wont want to drive outside of the city.

[slickkapone]

I.LOVE.CHICAGO...!! That place is just amazing man!!!

[bthomps87]

I am from Houston and I might be getting a job up in Chicago. So I know big cities but Chicago looks amazing! Are the roads pretty simple to figure out after a week or so?

[Freewayjim]

@bthomps87 I don't know, I was only there a day. Coming from Houston, you should have no trouble adapting to Chicago's roads, they are just older and Jammed up more, but the grid makes sense.

[GoldenHighway]

This was real nice, where I grew up and worked! Enjoyed it!

[Freewayjim]

@GoldenHighway Glad you did, thanks!

[william273]

awesome views of my favorite city! chicago traffic doesn't seem as bad as atlanta and they seem to drive better...even during the week days. what do you think jim?

[Freewayjim]

@william273 I don't have enough experience in Chicago to compare it with Atlanta with regards to traffic. This video was shot on a saturday, traffic was OK, but the JFK, Dan Ryan & Stevenson expressways leading to the Circle Interchange were clogged almost ALL DAY which put a cramp in my filming, in most cases Atlanta expressways are free and clear on a weekend afternoon, plus Atlanta has larger and more modern expressways, which helps. Drivers are equally agressive in both cities.

[Freewayjim]

@william273 I really hope you aren't talking about Charleston SC. No it's not a "Real City" like Chicago & Atlanta but it is arguably the most historical and beautiful southern "small city".

[Freewayjim]

@william273 I love visiting there, I am not up on the local government mentality obviously, which IMO is a completely different thing that what a place looks like from an architectural standpoint. 

[william273]

that's really an incredible video jim...shows the city streets real nice.

[Freewayjim]

@william273 Thanks!

[Freewayjim]

@william273 I will say that the surface street grid in Chicago is light years better than Atlanta's.

[cartsmusic]

Awesome video.

[xxLuvBbyTOXICxx]

I live in Salt Lake in Utah and I really want to move here!!! I wanna live in a nice condo in downtown Chicago!!! I am only 13 so I hope to fulfill my dream of becoming a lawyer in Chicago!!!

[prfsnlwannabe]

In fairness to Freewayjim, when it comes to not seeing many CTA buses, the route he went on doesn't have many buses running on Saturday, except for buses from outer neighborhoods entering downtown. He would've seen a lot more, if he drove on a weekday. Plus, service cuts in February 2010 decreased the frequency of buses.

If I were you, I would've turned left at Lower LSD/Wacker, go by Navy Pier, and turn around to make a brief drive through the Streeterville neighborhood. Great video, anyway.

[Freewayjim]

@prfsnlwannabe I wanted to keep this one reasonably short, the route was just enough, thanks.

[prfsnlwannabe]

@Freewayjim Right, I see why you didn't do it then. Makes sense you'd want to efficiently utilize your time to film expressways you wanted to see, plus of course(I would guess) do some sightseeing while you were here.

[Freewayjim]

@prfsnlwannabe Didn't do much sightseeing other than what I saw while driving, I was there to film.

[fanofzimmertwins]

I live in Chicago. 

[osterman9439]

Good Video.

[Freewayjim]

@osterman9439 Thanks

[95BWG]

You really should have more city buses in the US... didn't see many buses in this video :P

[Freewayjim]

@95BWG It was a Saturday, there may be more during the week.

[Freewayjim]

@95BWG Check my up coming Michigan Ave video in about 10 days or so, all kinds of buses present on a Saturday night.

[95BWG]

@Freewayjim Okay, I will. Just thought it was strange that such a large city didn't have any buses running in the middle of a Saturday...

[mizzouluvr]

5 stars as usual, Jim

[Freewayjim]

@mizzouluvr Thanks!

[TrainAndGain]

Keep it up dude!

[MCJunkie9]

WOW, its like im there. take me with you. your great!!

[Freewayjim]

@MCJunkie9 Thank you!

[lakebay972]

There was a guy at 1:19 who looked as if he was going to step in front of your car, kind of like the guys on bicycles during "The Blues Brothers" car chase scene.

[benlonghighway]

Are there any tunnels that expressways go under in Chicago?

[McBearNB]

In the middle of the cideo, it looked like a tunnel and an underground parking garage.

[1867Phoenix]

Will there be a night version of this?

[Freewayjim]

@1867Phoenix Not of this but I did shoot a lot of night footage.

[redsoxguy617]

we stayed at the swissotel on E.wacker in june. nice hotel nice city as well. went to a few baseball games while we were there

[rawmustard]

The lower streets are still something I need to see for myself. I figure I'll get over there sometime after this latest Wacker project is done. I found it intersesting that you chose to turn just before the Michigan Avenue Bridge, which is pretty awesome for its double-deckedness.

[0marigolds]

Nice job on the music, jazzy ultra chilled, some surf sounds and a little Hammond Organ Santana-esque! Go ErikG and FWJ ;.)

[Freewayjim]

@0marigolds Thank you! 100% YouTube safe :)

[Bryant5493]

I felt like I was in the movie, "The Dark Knight." Watching this vid. Nice video, Jim.

[Freewayjim]

@Bryant5493 LOL, Thanks!

[Roro45ls]

A big like !

[Freewayjim]

@Roro45ls a big thanks!

[Intrepidity]

Streets seem quiet for a city the size of Chicago. Doesn't look like a grid-lock paradise like New York. Or is it very different during the week?

[CallMeEmaxe]

@Intrepidity Ya I wonder the same

[aswchris]

Lower Wacker looks interesting. Is that where a portion of "The Fugitive" was shot? Where Harrison Ford meets Jeroen Krabbe.

[FreewayTitan]

I've learned firsthand not to be on Lower Wacker at night..... Nice video!

[MixedBreedE]

@FreewayTitan what happens at night? ive been to Chicago five times driving around at all hours, i explored the West Side and South Side at night after midnight b4, was quite the experience

[Freewayjim]

@FreewayTitan Thanks, why not at night? is it dangerous?

[FreewayTitan]

@Freewayjim Yes it is, there are a lot of aggressive panhandlers and drug dealers. The last time I was down there was 8/2009, and I'll tell you it felt more unsafe there than any other place in the city, and this is coming from someone who has been on and explored much of the South Side.

[colinstu]

Love the left-hand merge ya need to do at the end... and the people swerving infront of ya right after.

[Freewayjim]

@colinstu Never been a fan of left merges :(

[colinstu]

@Freewayjim Yup, agreed. I hate them

[4223037]

You should have reenacted the chase scene from the Blues Brothers. :)

[Freewayjim]

@4223037 I did mention the bridge scene in Milwaukee :)

[keokiracerhalsteren]

You make awesome videos, I wish I could edit my highway videos as well as yours. I'm really looking forward to the upcoming Chicago videos, I can barely wait :)

[Freewayjim]

@keokiracerhalsteren Thank you very much! I have quite a few more on the way.

[keokiracerhalsteren]

@Freewayjim I've got like 10 videos waiting for me too, I guess I know what I´m gonna do this evening :P

[CaronAplus]

Awesome.. my hometown is next door

[Uaarkson]

Who would dislike this?

[DontBeATeabagger]

@Uaarkson Somebody eating Doritos while they accidentally clicked their mouse :))

[MrMarkingston]

ha u think is worm.think in the south the i have to dill with 100's

[Freewayjim]

@MrMarkingston I live in the south :)

[jenzeppelin]

another great ride jim. i love all of the effort you put into the editing. the tidbits of information along the way are so wonderful.  another five stars!!!

[Freewayjim]

@jenzeppelin Thank you!

[dave11686]

Awesome!

[Freewayjim]

@dave11686 Thanks!