All roads lead to Carmel

Check out six Carmel students who have some of the longest commutes to school.

All roads lead to Carmel

Smack dab in the middle of Lake County, Carmel draws students from all over northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Getting students to school from such a large area safely and on time is a challenge.

Gas prices, tolls, vehicle maintenance, along with construction zones and highly congested roads, impact the daily commute to school. Plus, an NBC News study puts the Chicagoland area in the top ten worst areas to drive in the United States.

Even though gas prices in Illinois are the lowest in years, they are still not the lowest in the country. Gasbuddy.com cites state national gas prices around $2 a gallon.

And, just because you drive, doesn’t mean that your journey is done. Many students park their cars in the parking lot of the bowling alley about a mile down the road. 

 

 

 

The time commitment of a long commute can cost students valuable sleep time. Sophomore Susannah Sinkovec lives in Bristol, Wisconsin, and wakes up at 5:00 each morning to get to St. Raphael Church in Antioch to catch a 6:30 bus.

Those who don’t drive must rely on others to get them to school, whether it’s a parent, a carpool, or some form of public transportation. All of those options put someone else in control of arrival times at school.

Metra train routes get students into the neighborhood, but there’s still a long hike to take into account. PACE buses plus Carmel’s four different bus routes cover much of Lake County and get you closer to school, but they mean that a student might get to the school very early or leave later than they might want.

Do you have a crazy commute that you’d like to share? Let us know and we will map it out.