[parentologist]

Actually, lack of terrible traffic jams was one of the reasons we chose this area. Unless you have to drive THROUGH Hartford on I84, it's pretty reasonable. So much better than NY, Philly, Boston, DC, any other Northeast city. Now if you have to drive through Hartford during commuting hours, that's another story.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by parentologist

Actually, lack of terrible traffic jams was one of the reasons we chose this area. Unless you have to drive THROUGH Hartford on I84, it's pretty reasonable. So much better than NY, Philly, Boston, DC, any other Northeast city. Now if you have to drive through Hartford during commuting hours, that's another story.

I can see that. City streets in Hartford are easy to navigate. But then again, I’ve been visiting Philly often recently and have not had any issues getting around. City streets in DC/NY/Boston are horrible. I don’t find New Haven to be easy for a city it’s size, either.

But as you said, traffic jams on 84 are another story and are what I would consider “terrible” on a regular basis.

[JGBigGreen]

Not sure where you are parking in New Haven but every meter I've seen in the greater downtown area takes coins and credit cards but not dollar bills.

Originally Posted by MrGompers

Obviously, they've never driven here.

Here's something funny/frustrating about parking though. The street parking meters in Hartford will not accept dollar bills, but will accept coins, street parking meters in New Haven accept dollar bills, but no coins.

The two cities are only 40 miles apart. Couldn't someone have placed a phone call to see what the other city was doing?

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by JGBigGreen

Not sure where you are parking in New Haven but every meter I've seen in the greater downtown area takes coins and credit cards but not dollar bills.

X2. I’ve never seen a street parking meter in New Haven that accepts dollar bills.

[Stylo]

There are zero meters in New Haven that accept paper money.

Some older ones only take coins. They're being replaced zone by zone with meters that accept credit cards and coins. Many residential areas have free street parking zones, as well as many commercial areas in East Rock, including Upper State Street.

Almost 100% of downtown has the coin/credit card machines.

I'm not sure if the city is still doing the app parking payment system? Haven't used it in a while.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by parentologist

Actually, lack of terrible traffic jams was one of the reasons we chose this area. Unless you have to drive THROUGH Hartford on I84, it's pretty reasonable. So much better than NY, Philly, Boston, DC, any other Northeast city. Now if you have to drive through Hartford during commuting hours, that's another story.

This reminded me of a story I likely told here years ago. Back in the early 90's CTDOT hired a national consultant to review traffic issues on I-84 in and approaching downtown. The state was concerned about traffic congestion on the Bulkeley Bridge which is I-84 over the Connecticut River. At the time that was the worst traffic spot in greater Hartford.

A team of specialists from southern California came to Hartford and literally sat on the roof of what is now the Crowne Plaza Hotel and watched traffic during peak hours for a couple of days. After they did this they met with CTDOT and asked to confirm that this was the regions worst traffic problem. They literally laughed when the CTDOT engineer said yes it was. They said if they only had traffic issues like this in southern California they would be all set. They made a few minor suggestions that CTDOT did including extending the I-84 WB HOV lane to the Founder Bridge and making some lane arrangement changes approaching the Bulkeley Bridge. These did help reduce the amount of traffic backing up in the area. I guess it is all about perspective. Jay

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by JayCT

This reminded me of a story I likely told here years ago. Back in the early 90's CTDOT hired a national consultant to review traffic issues on I-84 in and approaching downtown. The state was concerned about traffic congestion on the Bulkeley Bridge which is I-84 over the Connecticut River. At the time that was the worst traffic spot in greater Hartford.

A team of specialists from southern California came to Hartford and literally sat on the roof of what is now the Crowne Plaza Hotel and watched traffic during peak hours for a couple of days. After they did this they met with CTDOT and asked to confirm that this was the regions worst traffic problem. They literally laughed when the CTDOT engineer said yes it was. They said if they only had traffic issues like this in southern California they would be all set. They made a few minor suggestions that CTDOT did including extending the I-84 WB HOV lane to the Founder Bridge and making some lane arrangement changes approaching the Bulkeley Bridge. These did help reduce the amount of traffic backing up in the area. I guess it is all about perspective. Jay

Sure, 25 years ago they may have laughed. Today? Not so much. 84 is a mess.

[ryanthegoldengod]

Originally Posted by parentologist

Actually, lack of terrible traffic jams was one of the reasons we chose this area. Unless you have to drive THROUGH Hartford on I84, it's pretty reasonable. So much better than NY, Philly, Boston, DC, any other Northeast city. Now if you have to drive through Hartford during commuting hours, that's another story.

That driving through Hartford thing is something I didn't even realize until a few years ago. I was living in West Hartford and I took an Uber to a UConn football game in East Hartford. It was at about 5 on a Friday. What....a........nightmare. Took almost an hour.

[ryanthegoldengod]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Sure, 25 years ago they may have laughed. Today? Not so much. 84 is a mess.

I think 84 still doesn't remotely approach LA or Bay Area traffic.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Sure, 25 years ago they may have laughed. Today? Not so much. 84 is a mess.

It's not much different really. Backups going into downtown in all directions. The Bulkeley Bridge is a bit better because of some lane changes made back then but still not good. Before you could not get to the Founders Bridge in the morning because of backups, now you can. Jay