This account to become dormant in the case of a(nother) fiery Fung Wah bus crash

November 21, 2006 8:16 AM

I need to get from Hoboken to Chinatown (the Fung Wah) around 6pm on Thanksgiving day. Should I take the PATH to the subway or get my wife to drive me?

We're doing thanksgiving at the inlaws in Hoboken. She's perfectly willing to drive, and that's my preference, but I've been reading about the holiday gridlock. Will this be a problem at 6p on Thanksgiving day?

If I do take the PATH, what's the quickest way from it to the Fung Wah stop?

posted by These Premises Are Alarmed to travel & transportation (6 comments total)

Traffic in the early evening of Thanksgiving day will be negligible - 90% of the city is out with the family in NJ, Conn, the rest of the states, etc.. The only real traffic of the day is people coming in and out for the parade, and that will be long gone by the time you two head in. Have her drive you, it should take her 30 mins round trip tops. Its the rest of the weekend that will be nutty with traffic.

Take the Holland and then just follow the signs for Canal Street, straight across town - once you get to the other end you're right there in Chinatown where Fung Wah picks up. Even if there is bad traffic at the Holland, you can still skip most of it by taking Marin out of Hoboken, turning left on 18th/Washington Blvd in Jersey City, go around the Target shopping center, past the Newport area, and back around the mall - then right back onto Marin and approach the Holland from that direction - there's a dedicated turn lane to JC that skips all the traffic basically.

If you must take the PATH (no idea why you would, if she's willing to drive), either get off at Christopher and walk over to the downtown subway lines or ride it to 14th and catch a transfer there. Get off at Canal and walk east to Chinatown.

I've lived in Hoboken for years and taken Fung Wah a number of times, email is in profile so feel free to hit me up with any more questions.
posted by allkindsoftime at 8:26 AM on November 21, 2006

One thing that would weigh heavily on this decision, were it mine to make: does she have to go back to Hoboken and try to find a parking space? Making your wife look for a parking spot in Hoboken on Thanksgiving...well, let's just say DON'T DO THAT.
posted by bcwinters at 8:34 AM on November 21, 2006

Being driven will not take less time than taking the PATH (especially since your wife then has to drive back to Hoboken). It will probably take about the same amount of time. But traffic can be unpredictable, and it's totally possible that you get stuck in the tunnel, one way or the other. I'd say take public transportation.
posted by one_bean at 8:47 AM on November 21, 2006

Bah - Hoboken will be EMPTY on Thanksgiving - this is a town full of kids that will be off at mom and dad's place. If she can't find parking on Thanksgiving evening in Hoboken, she can call me and I'll gladly move my car to give her a spot - my roommate for one will be gone so I can put it in his garage spot. Seriously. I'm by 8th and Jeff. But really, parking in Hoboken will be like the lines at Disneyland on Thanksgiving - its the best time of the whole freakin year to use it.
posted by allkindsoftime at 9:07 AM on November 21, 2006

If you do take the PATH, go to the WTC stop. Either hoof it from there, or walk over to the 4/5 at Fulton Street, go one stop to Brooklyn Bridge, change to the 6, then go one more stop to Canal Street. It's a lot of subway for a couple of stops, and then you need to cut east down Canal. The walk is nice, especially if you walk past City Hall into Chinatown, and shouldn't take you more than half an hour.
posted by ny_scotsman at 11:44 AM on November 21, 2006

Thanks for the advice. Did end up drving and it took less than 20 minutes door-to-bus. Taking the train would've probably been 3 times as long. Wife didn't go back to Hoboken, she drove on home up the FDR....
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 8:02 AM on November 27, 2006