Dear Route 59 Metra Station,
It's not me, it's YOU.
Naperville has the nicest Metra Station. I've rode the train to Union Station out of a handful of stations. None of them were as nice as Naperville. It's no wonder there is a crazy waiting list for permit parking here (last I heard it was six years). There is a large, enclosed waiting area, with bathrooms that are unlocked even if a ticket agent isn't on duty. Bathrooms are always locked at other stations like Route 59 and Hanover Park. It also was heated, or felt like it was. Although a ticket agent is not on duty on Saturdays, there is an ATM and an Amtrak ticket kiosk inside. I saw about four large benches inside, so there is lots of room to sit and wait.
Parking is free after 6:00 p.m. and on weekends. I don't know who determines whether or not parking is free on weekends, because it definitely wasn't last time I rode the train from Hanover Park.
I always gripe about Naperville: entitled teenagers bred by entitled adults traipsing around downtown Naperville like they own the place. A parent of a local Naperville football player recently went to Twitter to tell the Aurora parents to "bring their food stamps to dine in downtown Naperville," prior to a playoff football game, and that is the kind of attitude that some people brought into the Naperville Metra Station on a Saturday morning: aloof, entitled, pushy - a small girl knocked into my side and the parent just ushered her along.
If you're anything like me, Naperville and other "wealthy" suburbs might irk you, but I've got to admit that they have the best Metra Station. Route 59, I think it's over between us. read more