It’s that time of the year for beaches, barbecues and, oh yeah traffic headaches.
Traffic experts and the city are pushing New Yorkers to use public transportation during Memorial Day Weekend to ease up the road clutter caused by hundreds of thousands of drivers expected on city highways.
New York is the fourth top destination for the long weekend, according to AAA, and road closures for Memorial Day related events are sure to tie up traffic.
There are parades going on in Bay Ridge, Forest Hills, Little Neck, and other neighborhoods.
Data analysts from the driving app Waze say motorists should avoid hitting the streets Friday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., due to a 23% increase in traffic jam alerts. Saturday is the better day because traffic is below average, according to the app’s analysts.
Those who do travel, be warned, the police will be cracking down on revelers who’ve had one too many at the barbecue. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced there will be increased sobriety checkpoints and patrols by local and state cops from Friday to Tuesday.
Last Memorial Day weekend state officers arrested 187 people for drinking and driving, and issued more than 12,000 tickets.
Straphangers will have to deal with modified service on some of their lines as the MTA will put its trains and buses on a holiday schedule. More details are on the MTA’s website, mta.info.
Several government offices and services will be shut down on Monday including the courts, post office and sanitation pickup. Libraries will also be closed and there will be no alternate side parking that day.
