Bought a map of Chicago from a gas station - what a joke

Needed a quick map to find my way around Pilsen last week so I grabbed one from a BP on Western Ave. The thing had the Kennedy Expressway ending at the Chicago River with no connection to the Dan Ryan. Ended up driving in circles for 20 minutes before I just used my phone. Anyone else get burned by a poorly made city map?

2 comments

2 Comments

nathan_torres3419h agoProlific Poster

actually that map might be a little more accurate than you think. the Kennedy and the Dan Ryan are technically the same highway, I-90/94, but they split at the Circle Interchange right by the Chicago River. so the map probably showed the Kennedy ending there because that's where the name changes to the Dan Ryan heading south. still a lousy map for navigation though, no argument there. those gas station maps are rarely updated either, I bet that thing was printed in 2008 or something. the Circle Interchange has been under construction forever and the lanes shift around constantly.

grace5659h ago

You know what nobody's mentioning though? Those gas station maps might be outdated but at least they don't have tracking cookies following you everywhere like your phone GPS does. I've had my phone reroute me through some sketchy neighborhoods at 10pm because of some traffic update, but a paper map just sits there and does its job. ALSO, those old maps have a certain charm to them, like finding one from 1998 that still shows the old Comiskey Park before it became U.S. Cellular Field. Sure they're terrible for actual driving but they're fun little time capsules of what the city used to look like before all the construction. I'd take a beat up map over staring at Google Maps any day when I'm just trying to get a feel for a place.