[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.

[kidyankee764]

If you'll be leaving Derby at about 6:20 AM you'll probably beat much of the traffic. There will be days when you won't hit much, but then there will be days that it will be pretty tough. I know quite a few people who commute to Norwalk and Stamford from Seymour so you won't be alone in the commute, unfortunately.

I'd suggest for you to take a few days and do a few dry runs. That's the only way you can tell what it'll be like.

[Slipperman]

i came across terrible traffic at a most unexpected time coming back from WP one time.. it was the Friday BEFORE memorial day, i left WP at 2:30 in the afternoon and the Merritt was a parking lot. took me like 4 hours to get home to Meriden that day and traffic didnt clear up until a few miles before that.. absolutely ridiculous.
maybe that's normal for weekend traffic but 2:30 in the afternoon? i suggest taking the IBus from Stamford into WP. you'll still get traffic on 95 but at least you're not driving.

[renovating]

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.

I am assuming you have received negative feedback from friends, family, coworkers etc. about your new commute as this is your first post on here.

Since you already know New York traffic, I am sure you know what you are getting yourself into.

I doubt you will have many days of a 50 minute commute from those two points. Bridgeport to Stamford would be about a 50 minute average commute.

Peak travel times are 6:00 - 9:00 am southbound and 3:00-6:00 pm northbound.

As long as you are someone that doesn't get frustrated easily, or suffer from road rage, you won't have a problem. Personally, I could never do it.

[seymourct]

Originally Posted by Slipperman

i came across terrible traffic at a most unexpected time coming back from WP one time.. it was the Friday BEFORE memorial day, i left WP at 2:30 in the afternoon and the Merritt was a parking lot. took me like 4 hours to get home to Meriden that day and traffic didnt clear up until a few miles before that.. absolutely ridiculous.
maybe that's normal for weekend traffic but 2:30 in the afternoon? i suggest taking the IBus from Stamford into WP. you'll still get traffic on 95 but at least you're not driving.

Not so unexpected when you figure that lots of city folks spend the whole week or weekend as a vacation around Memorial day. The northeast bound traffic is always terrible once you get to summer weekends. Plus some companies close early on Fridays so the time for driving starts earlier.

[gmdealerguy]

Originally Posted by renovating

I am assuming you have received negative feedback from friends, family, coworkers etc. about your new commute as this is your first post on here.

Since you already know New York traffic, I am sure you know what you are getting yourself into.

I doubt you will have many days of a 50 minute commute from those two points. Bridgeport to Stamford would be about a 50 minute average commute.

Peak travel times are 6:00 - 9:00 am southbound and 3:00-6:00 pm northbound.

As long as you are someone that doesn't get frustrated easily, or suffer from road rage, you won't have a problem. Personally, I could never do it.

My sister says there is traffic depending on certain times. Some days better/worse than others. Im a pretty easy,calm person. I'll have to adjust my commute time if it gets bad. 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. Would I love a short commute. Yes. But to have a nice ,affordable place to live near my family makes the commute sacrifice worth it.The place we are buying is nice and costs HALF of what you get here in NY and the taxes are HALF too. A comparable place in NY would run me $650,000 with taxes of $7900 +.......thats if your lucky.We may even switch jobs if the economy gets better and work in CT one day.
Any other traffic input? I'm taking it all in......Thanks by the way!

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by gmdealerguy

My sister says there is traffic depending on certain times. Some days better/worse than others. Im a pretty easy,calm person. I'll have to adjust my commute time if it gets bad. 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. Would I love a short commute. Yes. But to have a nice ,affordable place to live near my family makes the commute sacrifice worth it.The place we are buying is nice and costs HALF of what you get here in NY and the taxes are HALF too. A comparable place in NY would run me $650,000 with taxes of $7900 +.......thats if your lucky.We may even switch jobs if the economy gets better and work in CT one day.
Any other traffic input? I'm taking it all in......Thanks by the way!

You won't be the only NYer looking to Ansonia and Derby for cheaper cost of living. That is primarily why traffic has increased so much on RT 8 and the Merritt.

As your sister said, it depends on the day. Some are worse than others.

[JayCT]

If I am not mistaken, Derby to White Plains is about 50 miles so you having a 50 minute commute, even in off peak hours, would be difficult. You should figure at least an hour and add up to 30 minutes during rush hour (maybe more). It definitely is not a commute I would want to make. Jay

[Slipperman]

Originally Posted by seymourct

Not so unexpected when you figure that lots of city folks spend the whole week or weekend as a vacation around Memorial day. The northeast bound traffic is always terrible once you get to summer weekends. Plus some companies close early on Fridays so the time for driving starts earlier.

in case it makes a difference, i meant to say it was the friday of the weekend before memorial day weekend not the friday of memorial day weekend. but i get your point.

[gmdealerguy]

Originally Posted by JayCT

If I am not mistaken, Derby to White Plains is about 50 miles so you having a 50 minute commute, even in off peak hours, would be difficult. You should figure at least an hour and add up to 30 minutes during rush hour (maybe more). It definitely is not a commute I would want to make. Jay

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?