[Imigo Jones]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Actually, for a big city, it's not that bad to navigate.

You know them better than me, Bruce, but I'd guess it's not the ease of navigation so much as the congestion that concerns Brianna and glatt. The congestion for the driver (and hopeful parker) is one of Chicago's few minuses, but it's a big one. The Dan Ryan, baby!

But Brianna, Bruce is right about the navigation. There is a relatively uninterrupted north-south & east-west grid laid over the whole flat town, as you can see in the great pic. Plus, Chicago is shaped kinda like a semicircle, and the expressways and several other major roads are "spokes" radiating in all directions from the hub near the Loop. Many of the "diagonal" roads follow the old Indian trails, which themselves often paralleled Lake Michigan or one of the few waterways that break up the modern grid.

So, even without a map it's easy to feel your way around in a general way. For example, Buckrogers is eventually leaving Wrigleyville after celebrating a Cubs loss and wants to get to the Kennedy Expressway, which is not nearby. First, he's got to remember where he parked his car, because parking in Wrigleyville is terrible, and it seems like more and more of the residential streets have parking by permit only, so you end up a mile away from Wrigley. But Buck's been celebrating responsibly, so he finds his car. Now, even if he didn't know the streets well, he could just get on a main east-west street and head west until he hits the diagonal (SE-to-NW) Kennedy--no prob.

Bonus annotated version of photo, including Wrigley (but at least a couple misplaced annotations: U of IL-Chicago should be significantly E; Brookfield Zoo, NW).

By the way, Buck, I want the Cubs to lose as much as the next guy--actually, more than the next guy. With the Cubs having won the division last year, however--and more importantly, doing very well in this young season, having won 5 in a row, taken the division lead, blah3--general-purpose insults don't ring as true and in the moment as usual. Forecasts for a June swoon might not be out of order, though. :p

In any case, the pic likely wasn't taken after a Cubs loss, or even during baseball season at all, because
1. for the streetlights to show up so well, the leaves must have been off the trees;
2. neither Wrigley nor White Sox Park is lit up; and
3. the Flicker page says it was taken January 2, 2007.

No kidding, BigV!

Seconded, BV and BH! Every little bit of dark helps. My street is pretty dark, with streetlights spaced about two per block on the utility poles running between backyards--odd. But a couple years ago, a gas station 1/4 mile to the SE rebuilt, and its upgraded lighting makes for surprisingly downgraded casual stargazing from my place.

No lights at Wrigley!