Drivin' In A Winter Wonderland
December 27, 2010 9:12 PM   Subscribe

How can I find out about the travel conditions on my route home from Frederick, MD to Brooklyn, NY?

So, Mr. (Over)Thinking and I are stranded at his parents' house in Frederick, MD because of the snow. It hasn't snowed here, but we need to head back to Brooklyn, NY and it seems that there was quite the blizzard up there yesterday. We want to wait until it's as safe as possible to drive back- Mr. (Over)Thinking is terrified of driving in the snow. Is there a website out there that can tell us about the conditions on the roads we need to take? Or have any of you driven on any of these roads since the snow?

We'll be taking I-70 to Baltimore, I-695 through Baltimore, I-95 to I-295 to the Jersey Turnpike, then getting off at exit 13 for the Goethals/Verrezano Bridges. Then we'll take the BQE (I-278) to exit 29ish (Atlantic Ave) and go straight up Atlantic Ave to 3rd Ave in downtown Brooklyn. We found the Jersey Turnpike cameras, but can't tell how the later exits are on there and can't seem to find anything similar for the rest of our trip.
posted by (Over) Thinking to Travel & Transportation (6 answers total)
 
I would go in the morning. The parkway and Expressways should be fine if slow. In manhattan the major avenues and streets are passable. Side streets are very rough. I suspect brooklyn will be the same. Parking is impossible.
posted by ihadapony at 9:30 PM on December 27, 2010


My cousin made the trip from Baltimore to Manhattan yesterday evening, and it was fine. He said the main highways were clear, and his route once in NYC was ok (meaning some snow, but people were driving slow enough not to be dangerous, and not impassable). But he did not have to go to Brooklyn (and he has an underground parking spot).
posted by bluefly at 3:46 AM on December 28, 2010


Best answer: Go tomorrow. I've been listening to WNYC today, and the city has some plan for street clearing (arterial, primary, secondary, tertiary) that leaves side streets last. There's no parking and even when it gets plowed, parking will be limited for a while due to snow piles. It's only starting to become civilized up here today, so I'd give everybody the rest of the day to tackle the insane aftermath.
posted by Miko at 9:11 AM on December 28, 2010


Best answer: Also, I bet Twitter is your best place for specific info on streets. I can't see any major media or government sites that are able to keep on top of reporting street-by-street conditions. Even if you're not a Twitter user, you could start searching on neighborhood names or looking for blizzard hashtags.
posted by Miko at 9:12 AM on December 28, 2010 [1 favorite]


The comments on this post on the NY Times City Room blog have people weighing in about the condition of their streets. Kind of a multipage mess, but might be helpful.
posted by yarrow at 10:55 AM on December 28, 2010


Response by poster: We just got back, thank you all!
posted by (Over) Thinking at 3:18 PM on December 29, 2010 [1 favorite]


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