Best way in & out Of long Island ??

next time take the gw to the throgs neckto the lie. yes you'll have to pay for 2 bridges, but.....it's faster if you hit it early enough. and less of a hassle once you're over the bridge. come back thru brooklyn only if you can hit the verrazano before 230. otherwise, be prepared to sit.

 

Wish I had seen this post before you got to take the scenic route! There is already a thread about NYC driving. Too bad you didn't do a search! I know you had so much fun trying to get off of Atlantic Ave with that road atlas you had!

I do hope the next time you go to NYC you stop and buy a fold out paper map. It's way better than that road atlas for street driving. I wouldn't bother with a book map as they are a little hard to use while driving and you have to go to another page and the plastic "fast map" is just as useless as the atlas for street level mapping! Then keep the receipt and claim it on your taxes. I have maps that are 20 years old which take up a custom-made box for almost every major city in America and I also use a good trucking map program which works just as well and has every city in the nation in it!

If in doubt use the map! It's better than getting lost in a major city!

Also for Chiicago there is a map called the Low Clearance Overpass map. GET IT! it's a life saver when on the west side of that crazy town!

 

The city of Chicago has (or used to have...been awhile since I ran out there) a 24-hour hotline for truckers to call about low-bridges and truck routing:

Chicago Communications Center
Department of Streets and Sanitation
Bureau EW & C
Room 702, City Hall
Chicago, IL 60602
312-744-6460 or 312-744-6461 (24 hr)

Save these numbers in your cellphone to use in case you ever roll through there and have to get off the highway. Keep in mind that they are only for the city of Chicago and do not cover the surrounding counties/suburbs.

 

yeah a hot line...easier to open the map and see what lies ahead of you! Not only do you have the low clearances marked with green yellow and red dots but you also have a map of the west side of town!

 

I read the NYC thread and did my research ... They have a map you can download. Nowhere did it mention the bridges were marked 12'9 and you just ignore those signs !!! I researched my route but when I got to the sign that said "all trucks over 12'9 exit here" I got off. Still cannot believe you just ignore certain signs. I get an uneasy feeling going under those bridges. Like one driver posted, just follow another van and if he/she makes it, you're good to go !!!!

 

Oh I forgot: The BEST way into NYC depends where you are coming from and where you have to go.

From west and south of town from I78 on south get off on exit 10 I95/NJTP on to 440 and go to I495 cross the Verrazano Bridge and head on to the BQE to where you need to go. The rumors that it's always screwed up aren't true! Or 75% not true! especially after 11PM. Now when they get the construction done it will get better but you have to remember just about any big city can get screwed up at any time! Read on for the radio station information!

From the north of town is the cheapest! You'll be coming downI80, I87 or I95 and get off on 295 to head to Bronx, Brooklyn, Long Island and Statin Island.

To get to Manhattan from the north go down to I87 south of I95 and go to the 3rd Ave bridge and pull out that fold out street map I always preach on and figure out where you need to go! Just watch the one way streets!

Actually you will have already had that map out and your route figured! Get there before the 6am rush like 5:00 eastern is the best! NOTE: Take the 2nd right off of the bridge 3rd Ave which is next to the ramp to Harlem River Pkwy. (why? Because you'll be looking at one way signs looking you in the face!) but the street turns into 129th St. Use your CB and ask one of the many dump trucks or locals the best way to where you are going.

Another NOTE: use the North south street that comes the closet to the cross street or street number where you are going. Just check the road atlas or reliable web site for restricted routes as there are a few of them on the Island! Also DO NOT go through any of the tunnels in the streets on those avenues going north or south! WATCH THOSE SIGNS! And watch those buildings built over the streets! Some of them do have signs that say NO TRUCKS! Stayin at least the second lane from either curb, busses and taxis do not have mirrors! Now they have pedicabs (taxis on a freaking bicycle) who have no clue that they can become a greasy spot in the pavement and the peddestrians who give a crapola!

Your delivery address if they get a lot of trucks will more than likely (but not always) have the no parking signs set for loading zones but watch those signs! Also watch for those cops in the covered motorcycles! My last parking ticket over in east Brooklyn cost the company $180 or actually the receiver paid it when the company gave it to them!

I still recomend that you CALL WHOEVER you are going to for directions if you are a newbie with the NYC thing! DO NOT rely on GPS or the road atlas except for the front where the road restrictions are if you don't use PC Miler Streets or any other truck routing program.

Now the best advice I can give you is TURN OFF THE MUSIC and HANG UP THE CELL and turn on AM 770. It has the BEST traffic reports every 7 minutes. You will get better info from them on traffic reports than the CB, XM or Sirirus Radio!

Now for overnight parking in any of the Boros...Watch the signs! There is plenty of prking if you just ...lets hear it people...watch the signs! Trust me I've been delivering in the 5 for years and after figuring out how to watch the signs sleep like a baby! An APU even keeps the natives happy if around any residents but I hope you have a quiet reefer! Just be smart when parking. Use a 9/16" bolt with 2 nuts jammed together on the trailer as theives don't carry wrenches just be sure the first nut is tight against the hasp, and a strap across the doors in the truck if you think you need that much protection!

Have a Hunts Point delivery? Go right on in at any time, pay the $25 entry fees and park in the back and go to sleep! Do NOT IDLE! The first idle ticket is $350 and they check several times a night and day! APUs are fine!

Have fun!
Rollover

 

I'll give up my secret, park near a cemetary! There's a big one in the Bronx and one in Queens near the midtown tunel. Nobody around to complain. In NY you park 1st THEN figure out if you're legal. So park, get out and read the signs.

Also Hagstroms is your friend. You can buy one at most mall bookstores in the NY/NJ area. They cost about $20-50 are very large print and fold like a book. Cabbies used to swear by them untill GPS came along. Most yellow roads in that books are bus/truck routes. But they also list subways, and frankly, you just don't want to come across a subway. If you don't fit under,,, you will be most unpopular.

 

I am at Lowes 2150 Nesconset hwy stoney brook NY on a lumber load going to PA need to get to 80w
how could i avoid the GWB

 

NYC DOT - Trucks and Commercial Vehicles

Truck map of the 5 boroughs, they send you one free.