Parking
New York City
Dec/05/2006 14:35 | Permalink
Well, I survived my six days in a row to New York
City! All went relatively smoothly, considering the
very heavy traffic, and pedestrians packing the
sidewalks and crosswalks. I partially lost my right
mirrors on one trip through the Lincoln Tunnel when a
truck in the lane to my right failed to negotiate a
turn to the right and drove right into my mirrors,
but fortunately the damage wasn't severe and I was
able to repair the mirrors enough to keep driving
safely.
For my Radio City trips, I followed their published guidelines for the most part, dropping off on 50th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues, and picking up on 51st Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. There are supposed to be greeters meeting coaches on 50th Street when you drop off, but in seven drops there so far this season, I have yet to see a greeter. I have three more drops there this week.
Most turns off 5th and 6th Avenues (5th especially) are now prohibited in the Rockefeller Center area -- new signs were posted 12/1/06. Most of the time I've been parking on 36th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue, then going up 1st Avenue and turning left on 51st when it's time to pick up. That's worked quite well -- IF you're lucky enough to get a parking spot on 36th, that is. Coming from the other side of the city is much more problematic; initially I went across 57th to 5th and down to 51st, but now the right turn onto 51st from 5th Avenue is prohibited. So at the moment I don't have a recommendation coming from the west side. There have already been reports of coaches returning north on 6th Avenue and not being allowed to turn on either 50th or 51st Streets, depending on the mood of the police officers there. So going that way is a crap-shoot. Good luck!
On Sunday the traffic police were also getting more aggressive at ticketing illegally parked coaches. I know of several that were ticketed in the cut-outs along 12th Avenue that are usually ignored by the police. Drivers were even sitting in the coaches, but NYC police do not have the common courtesy (okay, that's an oxymoron in NYC!) to ask you to move -- they approach you from behind, and by the time you see them, the ticket is already written. So be careful.
On another note, the Intrepid aircraft carrier was finally yanked from the mud today and towed five miles down the Hudson to Bayonne, NJ, for its $60 million overhaul. It is supposed to be back in two years -- November 2008.
For my Radio City trips, I followed their published guidelines for the most part, dropping off on 50th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues, and picking up on 51st Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. There are supposed to be greeters meeting coaches on 50th Street when you drop off, but in seven drops there so far this season, I have yet to see a greeter. I have three more drops there this week.
Most turns off 5th and 6th Avenues (5th especially) are now prohibited in the Rockefeller Center area -- new signs were posted 12/1/06. Most of the time I've been parking on 36th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue, then going up 1st Avenue and turning left on 51st when it's time to pick up. That's worked quite well -- IF you're lucky enough to get a parking spot on 36th, that is. Coming from the other side of the city is much more problematic; initially I went across 57th to 5th and down to 51st, but now the right turn onto 51st from 5th Avenue is prohibited. So at the moment I don't have a recommendation coming from the west side. There have already been reports of coaches returning north on 6th Avenue and not being allowed to turn on either 50th or 51st Streets, depending on the mood of the police officers there. So going that way is a crap-shoot. Good luck!
On Sunday the traffic police were also getting more aggressive at ticketing illegally parked coaches. I know of several that were ticketed in the cut-outs along 12th Avenue that are usually ignored by the police. Drivers were even sitting in the coaches, but NYC police do not have the common courtesy (okay, that's an oxymoron in NYC!) to ask you to move -- they approach you from behind, and by the time you see them, the ticket is already written. So be careful.
On another note, the Intrepid aircraft carrier was finally yanked from the mud today and towed five miles down the Hudson to Bayonne, NJ, for its $60 million overhaul. It is supposed to be back in two years -- November 2008.
NYC 2006 Holiday Motorcoach Operator's Guide
Nov/26/2006 09:18 | Permalink
New York City has finally published the 2006 Holiday
Motorcoach Operator's Guide -- the official
information for drop-offs, pick-ups, and parking in
midtown Manhattan, New York City, between
Thanksgiving and the end of the year. It's especially
important if you're taking passengers to the Radio
City Music Hall area. The link below is to a PDF file
that you should print out and keep with you:
http://home.nyc.gov/html/dot/pdf/motorcoach2006.pdf
As in previous years, there have already been reports of NYC police misunderstanding and hassling drivers with the new regulations, so the better you know them, the better you can be prepared to defend yourself and help educate the police. Don't wait until you get to the city to read these.
I've had four trips to NYC the last two weeks, and have six more (a personal record!) next week, so I'll have a few opportunities to see how things are going. I'll try and keep you posted here on my experiences in NYC.
http://home.nyc.gov/html/dot/pdf/motorcoach2006.pdf
As in previous years, there have already been reports of NYC police misunderstanding and hassling drivers with the new regulations, so the better you know them, the better you can be prepared to defend yourself and help educate the police. Don't wait until you get to the city to read these.
I've had four trips to NYC the last two weeks, and have six more (a personal record!) next week, so I'll have a few opportunities to see how things are going. I'll try and keep you posted here on my experiences in NYC.
Union Station, Washington, DC
Oct/24/2006 10:31 | Permalink
I had a trip to Washington, DC on Saturday, with a
dinner stop at Union Station. Parking there is
dramatically improved now -- I didn't count how many
spaces there are for coaches, but it must be close to
50, maybe more. Lots of room. Construction isn't yet
finished, however, and you must still turn right on H
Street when you leave the parking, going down to 8th
Street before you can make any turns to head back
toward the mall area. And, unfortunately, they
haven't returned to their in/out policy as they used
to have -- you pay every time you park if you leave
for any reason, despite them still advertising on
their website that they have in/out
privileges.