# Chicago Dopers - Traffic Question

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-dopers-traffic-question/1027254>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Tags:** vacation-travel\
**Created:** [February 1, 2026, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-dopers-traffic-question/1027254 "2026-02-01T01:09:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-dopers-traffic-question/1027254/2 "2026-02-01T01:49:54Z")

</div>

Previous thread on this: [Pick Up Trucks - Lake Shore Drive](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pick-up-trucks-lake-shore-drive/550340/)

Apparently it’s not a simple answer, and politicians, journalists, judges are all confused:

- [GAS UP THE PICKUP, WE’RE CLEARED FOR LAKE SHORE DRIVE – Chicago Tribune](https://www.chicagotribune.com/2000/02/10/gas-up-the-pickup-were-cleared-for-lake-shore-drive/) (judge ultimately ruled it not guilty)
- [LAKE SHORE DRIVE TRUCK PROHIBITION ENSNARES INNOCENT – Chicago Tribune](https://www.chicagotribune.com/2000/01/24/lake-shore-drive-truck-prohibition-ensnares-innocent/) (but initially the judge thought otherwise)

And also:

- WBEZ video story: [Why Ban Pickups from Lake Shore Drive? Where Can They Park in Chicago?](https://www.wbez.org/curious-city/2013/01/01/why-ban-pickups-from-lake-shore-drive-where-can-they-park-in-chicago)
- Tribune article: [Pickup truck owners face uphill climb in Chicago – Chicago Tribune](https://www.chicagotribune.com/2016/01/22/pickup-truck-owners-face-uphill-climb-in-chicago/)

As far as I can tell, it’s technically illegal but enforcement seems hit-or-miss. It may depend on how the officer who sees you driving on it is feeling that day, and how well they happen to know the law. It may also have less-understood exemptions, like if you had RV plates or weigh \< 8000 lbs, but those were secondhand and thirdhand reports. There might also be sections of LSD near McCormick Place that may be exempt. If you want to play it super-safe, best not to drive a pickup there.

Reddit has a ton of confusing anecdotes:

- [Pickup Trucks on Lake Shore Drive : chicago](https://old.reddit.com/r/chicago/comments/iu4wxb/pickup_trucks_on_lake_shore_drive/)
- [Visiting Chicago, can I drive a pickup truck in the city? : AskChicago](https://old.reddit.com/r/AskChicago/comments/1jezwoz/visiting_chicago_can_i_drive_a_pickup_truck_in/)
- [https://old.reddit.com/r/AskChicago/comments/1j1twdi/why\_doesnt\_law\_enforcement\_ticket\_the\_plethora\_of/](https://old.reddit.com/r/AskChicago/comments/1j1twdi/why_doesnt_law_enforcement_ticket_the_plethora_of/)

What IS clear is that you’re not allowed to _park_ on residential streets, only “business streets”: [Pickup Trucks & Commercial Vehicles | Office of the City Clerk](https://www.chicityclerk.com/pickup-trucks-commercial-vehicles)

> If the non-commercial pick-up truck is owned by a Non-Chicago resident, (e.g. a visitor from the suburbs) and does not have a current and valid City Sticker, the owner may park the vehicle on a Business street.
> 
> Commercial pick-up trucks, junk vehicles, and any pick-up truck weighing more than 8,000 pounds are still prohibited from parking on ANY residential and business streets.

---

_[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chicago-dopers-traffic-question/1027254)._