GRIDLOCK SAM
Sunday, March 2 1 - Saturday, March 2 7 ALTERNATE SIDE PARKING RULES ARE IN EFFECT ALL WEEK
Back to school! Approximately 55,000 ninth to 12th grade students and 17,000 staff at NYC public schools return to in-person learning on Monday. Expect turbulence by high schools at the beginning and end of the academic day.
Ten new mass vaccination sites opened across the state late last week, including several in our area. In the Bronx, the facility at the Bay Eden Senior Center will impact traffic on Schieffelin Ave. and 229th St. On Long Island, watch for backups on Cedar Swamp Rd. with drivers heading to get shots at SUNY Old Westbury; spillover is possible on the Jericho Tpke. and LIE.
Monday, a Rally for Uyghur Freedom takes place near the UN at 1 p.m., affecting First Ave., at 45th St. At 4 p.m., a rally for school funding will be held at the Tweed Courthouse behind City Hall; slowing Chambers St. and access to the Brooklyn Bridge.
Passover begins at sundown Saturday, but since that is the Sabbath for many Jews, Friday is the final day to go shopping for kosher-for-Passover food. Expect intense activity Friday on Thirteeth Ave., Bedford Ave., and Lee Ave. in Brooklyn and on Broadway on the Upper West Side as well as around other Jewish enclaves.
MAILBAG Dear Gridlock Sam,
I am astounded by the dozens of commercial vehicles on the Henry Hudson
Parkway each day. Inevitably, each week a tractor trailer becomes stuck or needs to exit because it cannot clear the bridges. I thought it was a violation for such vehicles to be on parkways? Are navigation apps sending them there? Could the tolling cameras at the Henry Hudson Bridge be used to identify and stop unauthorized vehicles? K.A.
Dear K.A.,
Commercial vehicles, with a few small exceptions, are banned from the “Parkway System” (which includes the Henry Hudson and FDR). Most have low-clearance bridges that will shear the top right off a truck.
Apps may add to the problem, but this has been going on since Robert Moses created highways for cars only. In most of the country, if it’s a highway, trucks are allowed, so many long-distance truckers are caught unaware when they hit the city. Even some New Yorkers are clueless when they rent a truck. Frankly, it’s crazy that we put cars on highways and trucks on local streets. It’s time we rethought some of our parkway rules.
Toll cameras can only be used for sending bills and notices; they are prohibited from enforcing traffic laws without a subpoena.