Re: Semi-OT: Google Maps Directions quirk


DanTheMan wrote:
John.Grout@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
I made the trip many, many times when I lived in the area.

If you're headed to the Taconic from the City of Poughkeepsie on north,
NY 55 is OK. If you're headed from the south suburbs, go down to I-84
and take that east to the Taconic. If you're far enough east of the
Hudson, ask the locals how to get to the Taconic from their neck of the
woods.

I'm actually going to be either on the campus of Marist College or very
close to it - somewhere near the US 9/NY 9G intersection. Last summer,
I was in the area for a day and it seemed like US 44/NY 55 through
downtown was pretty quick as long as you kept to the 30 mph speed limit
(they seemed to time the lights almost perfectly, at least on the
westbound side).

Out of curiousity, is there any good way to bypass Poughkeepsie on the
north side? There's nothing really obvious or promising-looking.

Assuming you are headed for Manhattan, I like part of the parkway route
(Taconic to Sprain Brook to Bronx River... don't close your eyes or you
won't notice the name change... to Cross County)... but between the CCP
and upper Manhattan, the Google Maps route crosses the Henry Hudson
Bridge, an inconspicuous bridge with an outrageous toll ($2.25 EACH
WAY). To jump this outrageous toll to NYC, when the CCP splits into
express and local lanes, bear right, exit at the I-87 sign to a
well-marked surface street and follow the signs for I-87 south to the
Thruway onramp (it only takes a few minutes). From there, continue
south on I-87 into NYC to I-95 and take that north (really, west) to
FDR Drive (down the east side of Manhattan) or the Henry Hudson Parkway
(down the west side of Manhattan). On the way back, you can take the
same route and there's no surface street (I-87 north connects directly
to the Cross County Parkway east).

That's pretty much what I had in mind - I've gotten stuck in traffic at
the Highbridge (87/95) interchange before, so I was thinking of staying
on 87 further south towards the Yankee Stadium area and taking (maybe)
the 3rd Ave bridge over to FDR Drive. Depends on traffic really.


Always listen to traffic reports. 1010AM on the 1's, and 880AM on the
8's, and there's one more station too. For me its always a ritual
every time i head into NY to start flipping between the two about an
hour before I hit the city.

Third/Willis Avenue Bridges usually work well (especially northbound
getting from the FDR to the Deegan)

If the FDR is jammed, I'd try an avenue instead of the Henry Hudson
Parkway. The parkway can jam often too, and its lack of frequent exits
means you might be sitting for a while. My favorite Avenue combo is
Columbus/Amsterdam (becomes 9th and 10th Avenues), but thats probably
too far west to get to easily from the Deegan. I'd try 2nd, 3rd, or
Lexington.

In snow or very heavy rain, I'd take the Thruway each way (even though
it swings way wide of the Hudson). Late at night, I'd either swallow
my pride and pay the Henry Hudson Bridge toll (I don't want to break
down in the South Bronx) or (coming home from NYC) go up the west side
of the river (as suggested by Google Maps) but take NY 9D north from
the Bear Mountain Bridge instead of US 202 east to US 9 north.

Sounds good to me. The Taconic section in Putnam County (just south of
I-84) seemed awfully windy for nighttime driving (at least for my
tastes) - I'd probably (as mentioned by others in this thread) shoot
over the Saw Mill Parkway to I-684 and up that to 84 before I headed
across the Hudson River, but if I did cross the river, I'd agree that
the Thruway or 9D would be better than 9.

I-684 and I-84 work remarkably well...and since I-84 is slanted more
N/S on most of that segment, you don't really get forced too far east.


I have family that lives up that way, right off the Taconic/NY 55
interchange actually, and they always use I-84/I-684. I personally
prefer the Taconic in Putnal County if its daylight, since there are no
trucks (and more then enough of them on I-84). The Palisades/BMB/NY 9D
route actually seems somewhat decent...though you would be on 9D for
quite a ways. Palisades/US 9W/I-84/NY 9D is an option, and though
faster for most of its route, you will get bogged down in Newburg so
its probably not worth it.


Thanks for the help!

-Dan
--
http://WhereRoadsMeet.8k.com - The Website for Interchanges
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