However, Western Avenue extends intermittently through the Southland to the Will/Kankakee county border in unincorporated Will Township.

Being at the edge of town, it became a picnic spot, and Riverview Park was built at the intersection of Western and Belmont Avenues.

The park's property is now home to the Riverview Plaza shopping center, the Belmont District Chicago Police Station, and DeVry University.

On Metra, the BNSF Line serves Western Avenue at 18th Street; the North Central Service and the Milwaukee District lines (West and North) indirectly serve Western Avenue at Hubbard Street.

[2] The 49B North Western runs from Howard Street at the city's northern border to Leland Avenue, where it connects to a Brown Line station.

The parade drives north to deposit toys at Lane Tech at Addison Street, a distance of over fifteen miles.

From 1979 through 2008, the parade instead continued north to deliver the toys to the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve station on Foster Avenue, a total distance in excess of eighteen miles.