[Bren's Mom]

Hi neighbor! I'm a Derby resident. We love it here!

At 6am the traffic shouldn't be an issue.

Coming home, if you're leaving your office at 6pm there is still going to be a fair amount of traffic although it will thin considerably as you get through most of Fairfield County. You might find leaving your office at 6:30 or later gets you home quicker.

I just did a class in Greenburgh that was from 8am-5pm. If I left by 6:45am I was fine, if I left later it took alot longer.

When class let out early at 4pm, I was home in an hour. When I left at 5pm, it took closer to 2.

Good luck!

[renovating]

Originally Posted by gmdealerguy

We are moving there to be near my mom who is 73 now.....plus my sister lives near there....plus finding anything affordable to live in in Westchester NY is unheard of. Unless a husband and wife are both making 6 figures,it aint happening.

I would be lost without my family...I think it's so important, too!

I disagree about both making 6 figures...I am a SAHM..yet through prudent saving and wise real estate choices, I live in an upscale town and on one income. Where there is a will, there is a way.

[gmdealerguy]

Originally Posted by renovating

I would be lost without my family...I think it's so important, too!

I disagree about both making 6 figures...I am a SAHM..yet through prudent saving and wise real estate choices, I live in an upscale town and on one income. Where there is a will, there is a way.

Well......I .....uh.....work......in the....uh.....Auto Industry! ....23 years now. But things are getting better this year. Took a hit in 08-09 but doing better now. Wife is a paralegal. But seriously, it really is out of control in Westchester as far as affordable homes....unless you want to live in a crappy area......which I dont. In CT,we would be getting more for the money....plus as I said,the family is there.

[gmdealerguy]

Originally Posted by Bren's Mom

Hi neighbor! I'm a Derby resident. We love it here!

At 6am the traffic shouldn't be an issue.

Coming home, if you're leaving your office at 6pm there is still going to be a fair amount of traffic although it will thin considerably as you get through most of Fairfield County. You might find leaving your office at 6:30 or later gets you home quicker.

I just did a class in Greenburgh that was from 8am-5pm. If I left by 6:45am I was fine, if I left later it took alot longer.

When class let out early at 4pm, I was home in an hour. When I left at 5pm, it took closer to 2.

Good luck!

Thanks for the info! We are looking forward to it. My Mom is in Derby, sister in Shelton. We should be closing on a home in June.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by gmdealerguy

Well......I .....uh.....work......in the....uh.....Auto Industry! ....23 years now. But things are getting better this year. Took a hit in 08-09 but doing better now. Wife is a paralegal. But seriously, it really is out of control in Westchester as far as affordable homes....unless you want to live in a crappy area......which I dont. In CT,we would be getting more for the money....plus as I said,the family is there.

I hear you. You can't even compare the cost of living between Westchester County and Connecticut. Rent aside, we think taxes in CT are bad - you guys pay double!

[gmdealerguy]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

I hear you. You can't even compare the cost of living between Westchester County and Connecticut. Rent aside, we think taxes in CT are bad - you guys pay double!

New Yorkers think CT taxes are a blessing! Go figure. Something CT might have for say $4100 a year in taxes would be $8000 and up down here. It's sickening.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by gmdealerguy

It depends. On the weekends(no traffic), I've done it in 45-49 minutes from Mt Vernon NY to Exit 52......doing 70-80 of course...... I know it will be longer with commuter traffic.

Is it my dream commute? Nope.......but again, the living situation is more important right now. By the way, How come the Merrit was never widened or are there future plans to do so? NY has done it on a few of their parkways with great success. Are there any plans to do so? It obviously needs something...more people,more lanes......I thought Obama was supposed to use money for infrastructure and parkways/highways?

Most likely the Merritt will never be widened. First it has a number of bridges that are registered on the List of Historic Places which means Federal money can not be used to remove them. Second the Merritt passes through the backyards of some of the wealthiest parts of this country (let alone the state). These people don't like change and would not be pleased with a super highway within a hundred feet of their bedroom. And taking additional land for the highway would be very expensive since some of these homes are valued in the millions.

As for stimulus funding, it is being spent but it is no where near what is needed. ConnDOT recently estimated that they have $4 billon in unfunded projects in the next 5 years. There is no money available for these projects and Congress is sitting on the Highway Appropriations bill until after the election in November because it will mean new taxes whether people like it or not. Talk about poor planning or should I say politics as usual. Jay

[gmdealerguy]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Most likely the Merritt will never be widened. First it has a number of bridges that are registered on the List of Historic Places which means Federal money can not be used to remove them. Second the Merritt passes through the backyards of some of the wealthiest parts of this country (let alone the state). These people don't like change and would not be pleased with a super highway within a hundred feet of their bedroom. And taking additional land for the highway would be very expensive since some of these homes are valued in the millions.

As for stimulus funding, it is being spent but it is no where near what is needed. ConnDOT recently estimated that they have $4 billon in unfunded projects in the next 5 years. There is no money available for these projects and Congress is sitting on the Highway Appropriations bill until after the election in November because it will mean new taxes whether people like it or not. Talk about poor planning or should I say politics as usual. Jay

Thanks. Point taken. Too bad though....

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by gmdealerguy

Hi all.New here...... My wife and I are moving from New York and buying a house in Derby and will be commuting to Harrison/White Plains area via the Merritt. My family lives in Derby and I am on the Merritt on the weekends quite a bit. Nice,fast run. People say the traffic can be bad but I want the lowdown from people on here. I can handle a 50 minute commute to our jobs no problem but want a heads up on the traffic as far as good times/bad times. We would be leaving our home in the morning around 6:20-6:30. Coming home would be leaving work at like 6:00 and hitting the parkway. I'm a realist.....I'm not expecting no trafiic days......but can someone give me a rundown prime driving times/bad traffic times......just be honest but dont be a doomsayer.. I appreciate any input.

It depends...

When the economy was on fire(~'02-'07) the parkway would start to get really heavy a bit after 6:00 a.m., and by 6:30 it would already be a parking lot in Trumbull.

When the economy tanked, the ride became wonderful. Wonderful as in getting on in Trumbull at 7:00 and only seeing light traffic.

Lately, it seems as though things are rebounding. The traffic levels in the a.m. have increased, and speeds are a bit slower. I'm starting to see more brake-checks/stoppages in Fairfield at ~6:45.

P.M. traffic is very noticeably heavier and slower moving lately. It's not a total nightmare like it was when the economy was great, but it's crappy compared to the beauty of a ride that had been for the past year or so.

[blogspott]

Gmdealerguy- my S/O makes that commute about once a week on Merritt Parkway. It gets bad right after the interchange with Route 8 because of the flow from the Shelton/Derby area commuters. Sometimes it will be stop and go, sometimes quick and sometimes bumper to bumper. My S/O learned to leave early to beat the traffic and uses that time to sit and read the paper once in Westchester Cty.