Get Moving You Stupid Idiots

It just took me an hour and forty minutes to go 14 miles.

Ok, yeah I know that morning commutes suck all over. And I know that there's always an element of unpredictability. I get that. But there's something wrong when it takes you an hour and forty minutes to get from the North side to the West side.

The cause of my terrible commute this morning? A ladder fell off a truck on Lakeshore Drive. At like 6:45 am. This COMPLETELY KILLED traffic for the next two hours. Granted, an odd event. But unfortunately not unusual. LSD has to be one of the most unreliable major highways in an American city. It seems that almost every morning something weird happens to it that completely freezes traffic. And it's not just localized blocks. Fender benders on North Avenue cause traffic to seize up at Bryn Mawr or Hollywood. It's getting ridiculous. I seem to be getting caught in hour+ commutes nearly every day -- on a route that Google Maps claims should take 20 minutes.

It's gotten so bad that I now have three viable alternative routes. And yet all three were tweaking out today. Lakeshore because of the Ladder of Doom, Ashland for some unexplained reason, and Western because of a broken water main.

The transportation system in this city just seems to be breaking down. And it's not as though public transit is any better. Busses are rarely reliable (thanks to the traffic). The trains WERE a little better, but budget cuts and ballooning ridership have taken their toll. Let alone the fact that, between the Loop fire, snowfall, and Oglivie Center shootings, Chicago hasn't had "normal" train service in months.

Ugh. I know traffic sucks in every major city, but I don't know how much longer I'll be able to put up with this breakdown. Going 9 miles an hour every morning is pretty fucking wearing.