ALTERNATE SIDE PARKING RULES ARE SUSPENDED ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12 FOR LINCOLN’S BIRTHDAY; ALL OTHER RULES REMAIN IN EFFECT
Happy Lunar New Year!
On Sunday afternoon, watch out for dancers parading through Chinatown on the following streets: Mott St., the Bowery, East Broadway, Elizabeth St. and Pell St.
In Holland Tunnel news, one Manhattan-bound lane will close overnight 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday. One New Jersey-bound lane will close overnight 11 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday. All Manhattan-bound lanes of the Lincoln Tunnel helix (the spiral approach road to the tunnel) will close overnight Wednesday and Thursday from 10:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Additionally, all lanes of the New Jersey-bound helix will close 11:59 p.m. Wednesday to 4:30 a.m. Thursday, so drivers will detour to the Holland Tunnel on both sides of the Hudson.
On the southbound F.D.R. Drive, there will be a 47-hour closure of the Brooklyn Bridge/Civic Center/Pearl St. exit overnight 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday that will affect access to the Brooklyn Bridge. Take the South St./Manhattan Bridge exit (located one exit north on F.D.R. South) to the bridge instead.
On West St./Route 9A, one lane will close in each direction between W. Thames and Vesey Sts. Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. One southbound lane will close near W. Thames St. 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Thursday and Friday.
Tribeca street closures this week: Leonard St. will close between W. Broadway and Church St. 6 a.m. Saturday through 9 p.m. Sunday.
Due to ongoing construction, Chambers St. will fully close between W. Broadway and Church St. 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday. At all other times, traffic on Chambers St. runs one-way westbound.
Crane lifts will close Greenwich St. between Franklin and N. Moore Sts. 8 a.m. to on 6 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
FROM THE MAILBAG:
Dear Transit Sam,
I have been parking in Battery Park City during the week and have encountered typical alternate side parking rules, such as ‘No Parking 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Monday & Thursday.’ I have learned the game where you wait in your car for the street sweeper, move until it passes, and assume your spot again. I would wait in the car until 10:30 before leaving. If I move my car for the street sweeper (say at 9:30) and then re-park my car, is it necessary to wait until the full time period has elapsed to avoid a ticket? Would the police ticket an unattended car after the street has been cleaned just because it is before the time limit on the sign?
Tim, Battery Park City
Sorry Tim, but while we may have discovered the Higgs boson particle, we have yet to figure out a way around this conundrum. You may even get a ticket for waiting in your car until the ‘No Parking’ period is over, since the NYS Vehicle and Traffic Law states: “When parking is prohibited by signs or rules, no person shall stop a vehicle, attended or unattended, except temporarily for the purpose of and while expeditiously receiving or discharging passengers or load or unloading property to or from the cub.”
Readers! Help Tim out: If any reader has a solution to this problem, we’ll set them up with a Nobel Prize in Urban Affairs. Or at the very least, we’ll publish it in this column.
Transit Sam
Questions about parking or traffic? Email me at transitsam@downtownexpress.com. My 2013 parking calendar with Gridlock Alert Days and Summons Alert Days is available at www.gridlocksam.com.
