30 October 2011

DON'T DRIVE IN NEW YORK

It now costs $11.50 to enter New York City from anywhere further west and that will soon rise to $15.00. Imagine having to pay that every day. Never mind that the bridges and tunnels being tolled have long since been paid off. Once you enter the city, due to the anti-car mentality of the Bloomberg administration, there is virtually no free parking any more but plenty of bike lanes. To park on the street you have to pay the meter, or otherwise park in an exorbitantly expensive garage. It's not as bad as London but it's getting there. Where I live there is unnecessary alternate side parking four days a week, which means you have to go out and move the car every day or otherwise double-park for hours for the few minutes that the street sweeper actually passes by. Then there are the exclusive bus lanes, which leaves one lane open for everything else, and a heavy fine if you're caught intruding, although cabs constantly fly in and out of the lanes. The message is clear. Cars are not welcome even if they are sometimes necessary. This all may seem strange to the rest of the country, but you've been warned- don't drive in New York.

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