Park Ridge Ranks Among Best Transit Suburbs of Chicago

DePaul study lists Park Ridge as one of the 20 best communities when it comes to public transit within the suburbs of Chicago.

Brian Slupski, Patch Staff

Posted Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 5:33 pm CT|Updated Thu, Jul 26, 2012 at 5:37 pm CT

Park Ridge has been selected as one of the top ten transit suburbs of Metropolitan Chicago, according to a study released Wednesday by the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development based at DePaul University in Chicago.

The city ranks 13th among 20 suburban communities in the report and "sits in a true walker's paradise" with users just steps from shopping in Uptown, dining and the library. The study also states that the "CTA Blue line is a 'bonus' that makes Park Ridge one of the region's premier transit suburbs."

However, the study also notes that PACE service is "fairly limited." Also, the study found that the Park Ridge Metra station waiting room "tends to lack the niceties that one might expect from such an affluent suburb."

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The study noted that Park Ridge is investing in "transit-oriented development that leverages commuter rail and promises to push its rankings upwards in future years."

The team made at least three visits to each of the 25 finalists before narrowing the rankings to 20. Scores for each community were also derived from published data for all 250 suburbs in the metropolitan Chicago region.