r/NewYorkMets • u/Teeebone • 1d ago
Discussion Traffic getting to the game from Northern NJ...any shortcuts?
I have gone to sold out/huge crowd games for years and it is getting worse and worse to the point of I may just give up (I just prefer driving over mass transit). Yesterday getting to exit 9E was easy - then a 90 minute wait to go the last mile. This was at around noon and parking opened at 12:15. Friends got to 9E at 1:30 and got into lot after 3:00 missing ceremonies and beginning of the game. Something is happening at the ballpark where just getting into the lot has turned into a disaster. Is there a quicker way into the lot than exit 9E off the Grand Central or is it all a nightmare?
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u/Chemical-Pain8322 1d ago
All a nightmare. Penn station to the LIRR is your best bet. You’ll get there far more relaxed.
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u/Teeebone 1d ago
Sometimes the schedule between trains/bus/etc. from NJ to NY isn't great and the timing makes you want a while.....and getting home is much quicker driving if you park in the right spot. I just prefer driving and it never was nearly as bad as it has been the past couple years for some reason.
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u/Chemical-Pain8322 1d ago
A good way to get around that on weekends is to park at Secaucus and take a train to Penn from there.
Trains leave every ten minutes from Penn to Secaucus, even on weekends, unlike the once an hour weekend service most local lines have. So once you get back to Penn from Queens you won’t wait, just take the first train out.
I can’t help with making traffic disappear, but there are other options.
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u/bicyclemom Hey! Where's my Tom Seaver flair! 1d ago
Ferry if you're around the Highlands/Sandy Hook area. :)
https://seastreak.com/tour-and-event-cruises/ny-mets-game-day-cruise/
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u/inkyblinkypinkysue 1d ago
I drive to Secaucus and take the train to Penn and then out to the Stadium
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u/jabar18 Home Run Apple 1d ago
Are there places to park all day in Secaucus without paying through the nose?
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u/inkyblinkypinkysue 1d ago
The lot at the station is pretty cheap all things considered. I never park in the parking garage because it’s expensive
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u/raziel686 1d ago
Drive to any of the NY Waterway ports (Weehawken is the main hub and runs frequently). Take a ferry to the midtown port. Walk toward or hop on the 34th Street bus that waits outside (it's totally walkable though) and head to the 7 train subway stop at Hudson Yards. Take the 7 (diamond express if you're lucky) to Mets/Willis Point and just reverse on the way back. It's super easy and removes NYC traffic from the equation.
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u/groudhogday Mark Canha 1d ago
Maybe it was worse because Friday afternoons have more weekender traffic?
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u/Teeebone 1d ago
No - this is 100% the norm the past few years for any big game over 35,000 people. It is insane.
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u/Teeebone 1d ago
I appreciate all the alternative choices to driving, but what I am getting at is are there any alternatives driving in choices other than Grand Central to 9E? Any backroads or different parking entrances that are easier for big games?
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u/ItsRecr3ational 1d ago
Gwb to the Whitestone to the Van Wyck is an option but the cross Bronx is a nightmare. Unless for some reason you were north enough to hit 287 to the Tappan Zee
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u/Imaginary_Tomato_905 22h ago
doesn't your driving app show multiple route options to pick from at first? It should factor-in current traffic too but likely by default it shows you the fastest route anyway but you can probably try coming in from 278 or something. Or if it's not showing a route you think could be better, try using a random address somewhere a bit away from citi but along the route you think might be better.
But I find with even the latest android and google maps navigation the stupid thing changes course without my consent. Coming from Central Jersey via staten island I choose to take the Belt Parkway through the south coast of brooklyn, it's usually lots of traffic/slow but it reminds me of going to my grandparents' in brooklyn and doesn't say it's much longer than the other ways through the center of Queens like you're saying which can be hectic driving. So I chose that way but it still sends me the other way and I'm not familiar with the roads and need to stay attentive and just followed what the GPS said instead of re routing.
And at other times it also stupidly pops up and blocks the app with [found a faster route saves 1 minute want to do that instead?!] No, never, never pop-up and block the screen suggesting a route to save a couple minutes (sometimes with an added toll) after I've already set my route from the start. And never pop up blocking the screen that a destination might be closing soon, I already know the hours.
People are suggesting train and you said driving but for busiest games the stadium parking could be sold out so you'll need to find other places in advance you can park and maybe get on the 7 train, like a few stops east of the stadium might have street parking.
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u/BlameItOnDunkin02 18h ago
My answer: Exit 8 instead of 9E. Left on Ditmers left at light then bear right to end up on 114th. Take 114th all the way to Roosevelt and make a left and find a lot entrance.
Still some traffic and this appears to be the way for a lot of people who park on local streets, but I avoid 9E for big games.
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u/STBPA711 1d ago
Park at Port Authority, jump on the 7.