Time to Exit...

I've never travelled from O'Hare Airport to downtown Chicago directly by car before. It was on that route -- Interstate 90 -- that I saw some of America's finest electronic highway warning signs. I shrieked with joy (much to the Taxista's surprise) when I caught my first glimpse of the signs. About 10 minutes out of the airport, I saw it, shining brightly on a large black plackard above the expressway:

"Addison Street...Exit 73....10 Mins"
"Downtown Loop....Exit 79....18 Mins"

Estimated travel times -- WHAT an innovation!

Then, I saw the tremendous utility of this system on the way back to the airport from downtown. Leaving slightly less than enough time to get to the airport comfortably in rush hour, I was moderately relieved to find the same signs providing an estimated travel time to O'Hare from near downtown of "40 Mins." Deplorable compared to the 18 on the way in, but still the measure I needed to both rest assured that I would arrive at the airport in the nick of time, and know how much time I had to engage in other activities while on the way. Hello, 30-minute power nap!

Another great innovation along near-Chicago Interstate 90 -- 2-lane HOV lanes!!! This innovation TRULY makes a difference, and enables significantly higher-speed travel time for those who would use the HOV lane. It solves the trapped-behind-grandpa dilemma!