NYC Help

[gk90]

I will be staying in Nanuet NY and driving to laguardia...mapquest says 45 minutes,,,if I do this at 7:30 ish on a monday morning-should i allow 1 1/2 hours? or 2 hours?

I really wish that mapquest would do some kind of time adjustment for big urban areas like NYC. 45 minutes from Nanuet to LGA--maybe at 5 am on a Sunday morning with no road closures or accidents anywhere--and that's still a maybe.

Are you starting at 7:30 or need to be there BY 7:30?

If it's to be there by 7:30 you're fine with an hour and a half. If you're starting then you likely might make it in 1.5 or less but I'd allow 2 just in case.

 

[Swan4Me]

Are you starting at 7:30 or need to be there BY 7:30?

If it's to be there by 7:30 you're fine with an hour and a half. If you're starting then you likely might make it in 1.5 or less but I'd allow 2 just in case.

Flight is at 11 am-want to be there at 9am to renturn rental-so leave at 7am?
.I am still debating where to sleep Sunday nite

Other option is stay in Connecticut(where DS lives) which is a straight shot on I-95...its my first time flying in/out Laguardia

 

[cornflake]

Flight is at 11 am-want to be there at 9am to renturn rental-so leave at 7am?
.I am still debating where to sleep Sunday nite

Other option is stay in Connecticut(where DS lives) which is a straight shot on I-95...its my first time flying in/out Laguardia

Yeah I'd leave at like 7. Depends slightly on where in CT., but there's no real difference. It's not close to a straight shot from CT to LGA on I-95, though. Disabuse yourself of that notion right now, heh.

It's not what it looks like on a map and because of the way the traffic flows in/around/through the City, that'd actually be one of the worst possible ways to go, trying to come down 95 into the City. You want to do that, plan an extra hour just for the last four exits on 95.

If you're coming from Nanuet I'd probably go Tappan Zee to the Hutch (or Saw Mill to the Hutch I think actually, I don't notice but it may be Saw Mill) to the Cross County, the HH bridge (it's usually well worth the toll to avoid the traffic, even if you end up on the opposite side of town,), go crosstown in the City and get on the Triborough. Alternately I'd do 87, but not for money would I do 95.

If you're coming from CT, you can do 91 or 84 to either the Merritt (to the Hutch) or the Hutch and then follow the above, so you're basically doing the same thing.

You can get on 87 that way too, at the bottom of the Hutch, instead of getting on the Cross County, and then just go over to the Triborough on the Cross Bronx exchange, basically but... for my money, much easier the other way and much less likelihood of getting stuck - always possible on 87 and if you don't know your way around, like to decide to ditch the route you had planned and take an alternate small bridge, it's harder.

 

[Swan4Me]

Thanks cornflake
Google Maps has us stay on the west side of the river on Palasaids, then cross river to Harlem river driver
You are saying cross river higher...got it

 

[crashbb]

I really wish that mapquest would do some kind of time adjustment for big urban areas like NYC. 45 minutes from Nanuet to LGA--maybe at 5 am on a Sunday morning with no road closures or accidents anywhere--and that's still a maybe.

I've noticed recently that Google Maps gives you the estimated travel time but also gives you the travel time with current traffic conditions. So, for example, the PP could look up the directions at 7:30am on a week day and should, in theory, get a time adjusted estimate.

 

[cornflake]

Thanks cornflake
Google Maps has us stay on the west side of the river on Palasaids, then cross river to Harlem river driver
You are saying cross river higher...got it

The problem with coming down the Palisades from Nanuet at that time of day on a weekday is that you have to use the George Washington Bridge to get to the City to get over to Queens and that can be heavy, heavy morning traffic with very frequent tie-ups, turnovers, weirdness.

The GW when crowded can be a 45 minute delay or more just to get to the toll plaza. I wouldn't risk coming through Jersey (the Palisades) for that reason. You CAN, I mean it may be fine and clear - sometimes it is. But... it's risky imo to pin your timing on the GW being clear on a Monday morning at like 8am. Because, as below, if something happens to happen in Jersey, there are few options. If the Bridge gets delayed, everyone and their brother will head for the Lincoln and it all ends up with a giant delay into the City.

Hence yeah, I'd go Tappan Zee (which can also be a mess but you'll be hitting it much earlier, lessening the risk of traffic tieups there greatly) to Saw Mill, Hutch, Cross County, HH Bridge, down the West Side Highway, get off at 96th st., go crosstown, get on the FDR going north and right on the Triborough and to LGA.

I know it may sound complex but they do feed into each other and the signage going that way is clear - the 95 and 87 are what I'd avoid. Worse traffic and you won't know the shortcuts to ditch off them and work around on the streets and secondary (and tertiary and ... heh) bridges in the Bronx if you get stuck.

 

[cornflake]

I've noticed recently that Google Maps gives you the estimated travel time but also gives you the travel time with current traffic conditions. So, for example, the PP could look up the directions at 7:30am on a week day and should, in theory, get a time adjusted estimate.

I dunno how well it works but the roads in and around the City go to crap so immediately and with such dire result (because of the plethora of roads interconnecting on such little real estate - the whole of Manhattan is 10 miles long and like 3 miles wide and the roads on it and feeding off of it every which way are bonkers, including... 6 bridges and 4 tunnels connecting to Manhattan if I didn't forget one, heh) that it just can all sieze up when one thing happens and causes an ugly ripple.

So if someone looked at 7:30 and saw all was clear and set out, 20 minutes later, a truck overturns on the GW, and if that person is on the Palisades Parkway, just for instance... there are very few options if you're stuck there and all of them will fill immediately as soon as the Bridge closes, as all of Jersey coming this way will divert so... it's messy.

 

[crazyme5kids]

Will you be traveling by bus? If so, keep in mind buses are not allowed on parkways in NYS.

There are two Marriott brand hotels, one is a Courtyard on RT. 110 (I think it is considered Farmingdale) that would be a perfect location for you. Tons of restaurants that you could walk to, a movie theater across the street, another maybe 1/2 a mile down the road, and an amusement park maybe 1 or 1 and1/2 miles away. It would take maybe 20 minutes or so to get to the Coliseum.

Just checked: The other is TownPlace Suites, right next door to the Courtyard. Depending how many rooms you need, at a group rate you might get it close to $100 per night.

****I edited this to correct the hotel. I put Homewood Suites, but TownPlace Suites is the correct one. Sorry if I caused any confusion.

 

[crashbb]

I dunno how well it works but the roads in and around the City go to crap so immediately and with such dire result (because of the plethora of roads interconnecting on such little real estate - the whole of Manhattan is 10 miles long and like 3 miles wide and the roads on it and feeding off of it every which way are bonkers, including... 6 bridges and 4 tunnels connecting to Manhattan if I didn't forget one, heh) that it just can all sieze up when one thing happens and causes an ugly ripple.

So if someone looked at 7:30 and saw all was clear and set out, 20 minutes later, a truck overturns on the GW, and if that person is on the Palisades Parkway, just for instance... there are very few options if you're stuck there and all of them will fill immediately as soon as the Bridge closes, as all of Jersey coming this way will divert so... it's messy.

True - but at least they are doing *something* to account for traffic patterns (i.e. not just using distance).

 

[crazyme5kids]

The thing about traffic in the LI/ NYC/NJ area is that you just never know how it will be. Somedays, even during rush hour you have zero or minimal delays. Other days, you sit. Same thing for non-rush hour traffic. You just never, ever know how it is going to be.