Thurs., Dec. 3 – Wed., Dec. 9
ALTERNATE SIDE PARKING RULES ARE SUSPENDED TUESDAY FOR IMMACULATE CONCEPTION.
Battle at the Meadowlands means more traffic on Manhattan streets. The Giants and Jets face off 1 p.m. Sunday at MetLife Stadium. 75,000 fans turned out last year, so a crush of drivers will take to the Lincoln Tunnel, sending more down to the Holland.
Holiday season is in full force! Here’s what you need to know as we head into the merriment: Shopping areas throughout the city will be jammed now through the New Years, especially the rows along Broadway from Union Square down to Canal St. This Friday is a gridlock alert day! The remaining official NYC Gridlock Alert Days for 2015 are December 11th, 16th, 17th, 18th, and 23rd. These are days when the city (and Transit Sam!) advises people to use mass transit as a way to reduce the heavier than usual traffic congestion.
One tube of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel will close 9:30 p.m. Friday to 5:30 a.m. Monday. Two-way traffic will run in the other tube. Expect delays in the tunnel and on West St., as well as at the inbound Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges.
On the Brooklyn Bridge, all Manhattan-bound lanes will close 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday nights. With the Battery Tunnel closure, this will make for slow inbound travel overnight as most drivers detour to the Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges, and onto Canal and Delancey Sts.
In the Holland Tunnel, one New-York bound lane will close 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Thursday night. That means slow going into Lower Manhattan, and on Canal St. too.
From the mailbag:
Dear Transit Sam,
With the snow season almost here I’ve been thinking about street cleaning rules during bad weather. When the streets are covered with snow, the street cleaning machines don’t usually drive by. Are street cleaning rules still in effect even when the streets are not actually being cleaned?
Paula, East Village
Dear Paula,
No, street cleaning rules are usually suspended when there’s a significant (and sometimes not so significant) snowstorm. But it’s best to check at https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/home/home.shtml After a few days, street cleaning rules may be put back into effect even though the curb lane is filled with snow. That’s so trucks can plow the snow to the center of the street to melt.
Many people think 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. No Parking rules are part of street cleaning. They are not. Street cleaning rules are typically in hour-and-a-half intervals, although by meters they may be as short as a half-hour. But even while the street-cleaning rule by a meter is suspended, the meter may very well be in effect.
