The drone of car horns can be heard rattling any resident’s ears. The complaints may be even louder by driver’s who are sitting and staring at the same view of blinking red brake lights. Bay Ridge is the lead into three boroughs. The Verrazano Bridge takes you to Staten Island, the Belt Parkway to Queens, and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway to Queens and Manhattan.
The two biggest problems with residents in Bay Ridge are getting in and getting out. Many residents, even though they have cars decide to take public transportation out of Bay Ridge. A local resident Ryan Dawson says, “Unless it is the weekend I don’t touch my car because of the traffic, and the parking when I finally do get home”.
The worst of the three trips, many residents say, is getting to Staten Island from Bay Ridge which is across a 4,260 foot bridge. It seems as if there is never-ending construction going on somewhere on this bridge. Right now, the bottom level is being worked on so one may want to steer clear and head up top. No matter what level one takes from about 3:30P.M.-7:00P.M. one will be sitting in traffic as the Belt Parkway and BQE both flood into the Verrazano Bridge.
A Staten Island resident, Jessica Hughes said, “I used to attend John Jay and in the morning I sat in an hour and a half worth of traffic. After a long day on the way home I sat in another hour and a half worth of traffic on the Verrazano Bridge.” Now traffic cops are present in the afternoon but many residents complain that they cause more traffic and accidents than if drivers obeyed the street lights.
Now the question asked by many local residents is when will the traffic gridlocks stop and what is the solution.