Driving to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal

[lx200gps]

We'll be making our first trip out of the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in a few weeks, having recently cruised out of the MCT.  We'll be staying in northern NJ near the GW Bridge the night before and driving down early on the Saturday of embarkation day. Sorry, with our weak Canadian $, Manhattan and Brooklyn hotels are cost prohibitive for that date. Once over the GW, I seem to have two options for traversing the length of Manhattan, along the Hudson down the Hudson Parkway/9A/12th Ave, or down the FDR along the East River. Both routes would end with us taking the Battery/Carey Tunnel into Brooklyn. Around 8 or 9AM on a Saturday, how would these two routes compare (or is there a better way?) As near as I can tell, the FDR seems pretty much a "highway", while the Hudson side is stop and go with traffic lights, so I would expect the FDR would be faster and more convenient? We have EZPass, which I assume will cover all tolls, even the tunnel.  Thanks to the locals for their advice 😃

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, lx200gps said:

We'll be making our first trip out of the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal in a few weeks, having recently cruised out of the MCT.  We'll be staying in northern NJ near the GW Bridge the night before and driving down early on the Saturday of embarkation day. Sorry, with our weak Canadian $, Manhattan and Brooklyn hotels are cost prohibitive for that date. Once over the GW, I seem to have two options for traversing the length of Manhattan, along the Hudson down the Hudson Parkway/9A/12th Ave, or down the FDR along the East River. Both routes would end with us taking the Battery/Carey Tunnel into Brooklyn. Around 8 or 9AM on a Saturday, how would these two routes compare (or is there a better way?) As near as I can tell, the FDR seems pretty much a "highway", while the Hudson side is stop and go with traffic lights, so I would expect the FDR would be faster and more convenient? We have EZPass, which I assume will cover all tolls, even the tunnel.  Thanks to the locals for their advice 😃

I would suggest the west side highway -quicker and easier to get to from GW Bridge rather than crossing upper Manhattan.  There are as frequent delays on the FDR as on the west side, and I think the west side gives an easier feed to the Battery tunnel.

[njhorseman]

5 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

I would suggest the west side highway -quicker and easier to get to from GW Bridge rather than crossing upper Manhattan.  There are as frequent delays on the FDR as on the west side, and I think the west side gives an easier feed to the Battery tunnel.

I agree.

[lx200gps]

35 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

I would suggest the west side highway -quicker and easier to get to from GW Bridge rather than crossing upper Manhattan.  There are as frequent delays on the FDR as on the west side, and I think the west side gives an easier feed to the Battery tunnel.

 

29 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

I agree.

Thanks folks. I had mistakenly assumed that the FDR was more of an open "freeway" with fewer stops, but if it's the same experience/traffic as the West Side, we'll stick with the Hudson, driving right past the MCT. I've driven some of it before, and as you say, access to the tunnel will be easier down 12th Ave. than having to loop around from the FDR.

[njhorseman]

51 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

 

Thanks folks. I had mistakenly assumed that the FDR was more of an open "freeway" with fewer stops, but if it's the same experience/traffic as the West Side, we'll stick with the Hudson, driving right past the MCT. I've driven some of it before, and as you say, access to the tunnel will be easier down 12th Ave. than having to loop around from the FDR.

Yes, taking the Harlem River Drive and the FDR does keep you on limited access highways, but I usually find the driving conditions on 12th Ave . to be good, despite the traffic lights....but I was born and raised in NY City and used to driving in Manhattan.

 

In the end it's going to depend on traffic conditions that day so you should check for delays . 880 and 1010 on the AM dial give traffic reports every 10 minutes. The WAZE app helps...as an example right now it shows the west side route as being faster than the FDR route. 

If you're coming from the Ridgefield Park area sometimes taking the NJ Turnpike and the Lincoln Tunnel will be the quickest.

[1025cruise]

Wouldn't it make more sense if already in Jersey to go south and then enter NY via Staten Island?

[lx200gps]

11 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

Wouldn't it make more sense if already in Jersey to go south and then enter NY via Staten Island?

We'll be in northern NJ, in Teaneck, having driven down I87 from Montreal. Heading to Brooklyn via Staten Island would be a pretty big diversion as far as I can tell from Google Maps.  Between the GW and the two tunnels into Manhattan, I assumed the GW would be the easiest for us, vs driving way down I95 and back up through Staten Island

[njhorseman]

5 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

We'll be in northern NJ, in Teaneck, having driven down I87 from Montreal. Heading to Brooklyn via Staten Island would be a pretty big diversion as far as I can tell from Google Maps.  Between the GW and the two tunnels into Manhattan, I assumed the GW would be the easiest for us, vs driving way down I95 and back up through Staten Island

Yes, the GW or one of the tunnels to Manhattan are the best ways to go. 

Going via Staten Island when you're starting in northern NJ takes you far out of your way. 

[Got2Cruise]

Use your live GPS such as Google maps day of! That is the only correct answer dealing with NYC traffic. 

[lx200gps]

7 hours ago, Got2Cruise said:

Use your live GPS such as Google maps day of! That is the only correct answer dealing with NYC traffic. 

Absolutely. I never drive more than a mile from our house without Google Traffic open on my phone.

[GTJ]

On 7/24/2022 at 11:51 AM, lx200gps said:

I had mistakenly assumed that the FDR was more of an open "freeway" with fewer stops, but if it's the same experience/traffic as the West Side, we'll stick with the Hudson, driving right past the MCT.

Both the east side and west side routes have distinct histories and characteristics, and neither readily meet the ordinary expectations of an "expressway." While the east side route is nearly entirely limited access and no traffic signals, traffic on the west side route moves very well and the traffic signals are coordinated. Both routes have comparable travel times, and both routes lead to the entrance to the tunnel to Brooklyn, but the "better" route can vary from day-to-day based on traffic. Note that the east side route will also lead directly to the Brooklyn Bridge, which if used will save from having to pay a tunnel toll (albeit with having a longer and many times delay-prone route through Brooklyn along the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, interstate route 278).

 

If you're not ready to tackle Manhattan roads, and want expressway driving, then, from New Jersey, use interstate route 95 north (George Washington Bridge into New York, continuing on the Trans-Manhattan Expressway across Manhattan, over the Alexander Hamilton Bridge into the Bronx), then interstate route 87 south (Major Deegan Expressway) to its end, then interstate route 278 west (over the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge into Queens, Grand Central Parkway, Brooklyn-Queens Expressway) to exit 27 (Atlantic Avenue) and local streets to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal.

 

The west side route had previously also been limited access and no traffic signals, but the elevated highway that comprised the route was not maintained well and failed. There was much controversy as to replacement of the elevated highway, and ultimately the elevated highway was torn down between 59th Street and the entrance to the tunnel to Brooklyn (the segment between 72nd Street and 59th Street remains). The elevated highway was paved with cobblestones, which were slick in the rain, and with hairpin turns portions had 25 mph speed limits. The interesting history of the west side route can be read here; the history of the east side route can be read here.

 

The west side route, or state route 9A, starts at the Westchester county line, and is comprised of the Henry Hudson Parkway (to 72nd Street), then what is commonly referred to as the "West Side Highway," but in fact a series of roadways: Joe DiMaggio Highway (formerly Miller Highway; to 59th Street), Twelfth Avenue (to 22nd Street), Eleventh Avenue (to 14th Street), and West Street (to Battery Place). Note that state route 9A ends at the entrance to the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel (formerly Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel), and the remaining four blocks of West Street have no state route number.

 

The east side route, no marked route number, starts at Dyckman Street in the Inwood neighborhood of northernmost Manhattan, and is comprised of the Harlem River Drive (to 125th Street), Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive (more commonly FDR Drive; to Coenties Slip), South Street (to tunnel entrance on South Street near Broad Street), and the Battery Park Underpass (to tunnel exit on West Street near 2nd Place).