Everybody knows I love my Chicago. Up, down, and sideways. A number of people seem to think that, for some reason, we should be jealous of New York City, and I don’t get it. I mean, I love NYC, it’s a great town to visit and I have a lot of fun there, but it’s no Chicago.

However, I will admit to one very specific, very small but very significant thing New York has that I would kill to get here:

“Don’t Block the Box.”

Seriously. How freaking difficult is it to see that the guy in front of you isn’t going to get through the intersection, and stop before you get stuck in it, blocking traffic lanes? Being stopped fifty yards later still isn’t going to get you there any faster. — This morning, on my drive in, the westbound traffic on Roosevelt was stopped at State because, of course, northbound State was stopped, and people were trapped in the intersection. So all those people heading west — fortunately, I was heading for the drive — were trapped, backing up to Wabash and Michigan, because about six people heading north on State couldn’t be arsed to stay put behind the crosswalk. Of course that’s just an example — it’s endemic in Chicago driving behavior. “Red” means “at least two of you can still go through,” “Left turn on arrow only” means “for everyone except you,” and causing gridlock is a delightful way to make friends and influence people.

I’m pleading with the city at large, here: because you love your car, this town, and your sanity, Don’t Block the Damned Box.

(And incidentally, leaning on your horn is not actually going to make people get out of the way faster. Especially if it’s a CTA bus.)