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Transit advocates want end to Gridlock Alert Days for HOV restrictions, higher parking fees

By
Updated  December 10, 2021 7:29am EST
New York City
FOX 5 NY

Call to end Gridlock Alert Days

Transit advocates say the alert tells motorists there is nothing that can be done about the traffic congestion. They are calling for more HOV lanes and higher parking fees.

NEW YORK - New Yorkers  are accustomed to hearing horns honking and brakes screeching, but even more so during the busy holiday season.

As commuters continue to navigate their way through crowded streets, the Department of Transportation is urging drivers to hit the brakes and use mass transit on the following four days leading up to Christmas: Wednesday, December 15, Thursday, December 16, Friday, December 17, and Wednesday, December 22.

"The city is approaching a standstill and moving people and goods and services around requires that we cut down on driving. There’s no way we can improve traffic while increasing driving, so, we have to go in the opposite direction," Danny Pearlstein, Spokesperson for the Riders Alliance tells Fox 5. 

However, transit advocates like Pearlstein want the city to scrap those so-called "Gridlock Alert" days, which they claim do nothing to stem the holiday traffic nightmare.

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Cutting down on traffic congestion

New York City Council members have approved a slew of new measures designed to cut back on traffic caused by trucks making online deliveries.

Instead, they’re proposing more long-term solutions like "pop-up" busways, HOV restrictions, discounts on public transportation and higher parking fees.

"New Yorkers know they are going to hit traffic and what gridlock alert days say is there’s nothing they can do about it and that’s flat wrong," Pearlstein adds.

Most people traveling in and out of Manhattan are in agreement that drivers don’t always heed that advice.

While it may be too late to change the rules for this holiday season, the Riders Alliance is hoping the incoming Adams administration will hear them out for next year.

Traffic safety gets boost in federal funding

President Joe Biden's infrastructure plan will dedicate about $17 billion in total to road safety. Under the legislation, monitoring systems to stop drunk drivers would roll out in all new vehicles.