# Can I drive to Central Park from Milwaukee in 14 hours like Mapquest says? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 28, 2013, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-drive-to-central-park-from-milwaukee-in-14-hours-like-mapquest-says/674968 "2013-11-28T00:18:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2013, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-drive-to-central-park-from-milwaukee-in-14-hours-like-mapquest-says/674968/21 "2013-11-28T09:11:21Z")
Hmm…driving 14 hours from Wisconsin - land of huge forests and lakes - to go to Central Park in NYC? That would sort of be like me flying from Las Vegas to go the the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut to play slots. ---
**Author:** ![tenacious\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@tenacious\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tenacious_j)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2013, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-drive-to-central-park-from-milwaukee-in-14-hours-like-mapquest-says/674968/22 "2013-11-28T14:54:51Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Untrue. I’m a veteran of many trips through Chicago, and by choosing the time right, I have made it from the north end of the Edens (where 94 and 294 split) to Indiana via the Skyway in 40 minutes. > > Do that, and one has little traffic to worry about until they approach NYC. > > I’ve no doubt it’s doable. I’ve done Milwaukee to Baltimore in under 12. > > Can’t help much with the NYC traffic end, though. For the record, I’m not saying 3 hours in Chicago, I’m saying 3 hours from MKE through Chicago, assuming he’s not leaving at 4 am. I’ve gotten through town in 40 minutes a few times, but usually it’s much more, especially this time of year. You are inspiring me to expand my road trip options, though, if Baltimore can be reached in 12 hours. Can’t wait for spring to try it!😃 ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2013, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-drive-to-central-park-from-milwaukee-in-14-hours-like-mapquest-says/674968/23 "2013-11-28T16:12:43Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Also note that round trip Path train fare from Hoboken NJ to 33rd Street in NY is $5. Driving into and parking in NY will cost many multiples of that: > > Tunnel toll (round trip): $20.50 to $26.00 > Parking in NY: Can be upwards of $50 (or more, depending on various factors) > > So… $5 by train, or around $70 by car. The math seems simple to me. Easily - when we did the Rammstein concert a couple years back we paid $40 to park at the parking garage adjacent to the hotel, and when we went to the Museum of Natural History parking was free because it was a day event arranged my Met Life for employees, otherwise it would have been $18 an hour. [noted because the museum is near Central Park and I would guess the prices are reasonably normal for the area. Insanely expensive, but normal for the area.] And you really do not want to drive in NY - there is a baffling amount of traffic, illogical traffic patterns of one way streets and alleyways, parkways and bridge/tunnels and it is amazingly easy to get routed somewhere totally unexpected. I have to drive through it in various directions for various reasons a few times a year, and I dread every one of them and I have been doing it for pushing 25 years. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2013, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-drive-to-central-park-from-milwaukee-in-14-hours-like-mapquest-says/674968/24 "2013-11-28T17:14:05Z")
> [@tenacious\_j](#): > > For the record, I’m not saying 3 hours in Chicago, I’m saying 3 hours from MKE through Chicago, assuming he’s not leaving at 4 am. I’ve gotten through town in 40 minutes a few times, but usually it’s much more, especially this time of year. It shouldn’t be that bad on a weekend. During the week, that’s a little rough. I used to shoot a lot of weddings in Milwaukee and I would generally leave Saturday around 10-11 a.m. and give myself two hours to get from the southwest side of the city up to Milwaukee. You also have the option of coming down I-294 and cutting across on I-80 instead of going through the middle of the city. Just check traffic reports. If you’re leaving on a Saturday, I don’t think there will be much of an issue even leaving at 11 a.m., especially if you go via I-294 (toll road). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-drive-to-central-park-from-milwaukee-in-14-hours-like-mapquest-says/674968/25 "2013-11-28T17:19:59Z")
Just checking on Google Maps with their traffic by time of day and day of week feature, and even during the weekdays, going via I-294 and I-80 seems to be clear as long as you get there between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. ---
**Author:** ![Crawlspace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Crawlspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crawlspace)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2013, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-drive-to-central-park-from-milwaukee-in-14-hours-like-mapquest-says/674968/26 "2013-11-28T18:01:16Z")
> [@Onomatopoeia](#): > > Also note that round trip Path train fare from Hoboken NJ to 33rd Street in NY is $5. Driving into and parking in NY will cost many multiples of that: > > Tunnel toll (round trip): $20.50 to $26.00 > Parking in NY: Can be upwards of $50 (or more, depending on various factors) > > So… $5 by train, or around $70 by car. The math seems simple to me. I disagree, respectably. At least in terms of money. Parking in Hoboken looks to run around $30 for 24 hours. Drive over the GW bridge = $13 into the city, free into Jersey Street parking in Washington Heights = $0 Metrocard = $6 Turn south after the GW bridge and you should be able to find street parking on any of the numbered streets in Washington Heights without too much trouble. Then hop on the A and you’re at 42nd street in 20 minutes. Plus, it makes for a better story to end the drive in Manhattan. No one wants to hear about the guy who drove from Milwaukee to Hoboken :p. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-drive-to-central-park-from-milwaukee-in-14-hours-like-mapquest-says/674968/27 "2013-11-29T02:21:47Z")
You most certainly can make it to New York City in 14 hours. Easily. Once there and off the freeway drive times are a whole other story. I’ve driven in Manhattan several times. Compared to driving in places like Florence, Italy it’s a baby. But you aren’t going to get anywhere fast. When I make long distance drives like that (I’m in Milwaukee, BTW) I switch my body clock to a 3rd shift schedule and switch it back when I get to my destination. The freeways are much less crowded late at night. At 11:00pm you’ll zip right through Chi-town. The speed limits in Indiana and Ohio are 70, so taking a liberal application of a few over & you should make some decent time through them. Pennsylvania freeways can be a real bitch though. Getting to NYC in 14 hours is a piece of cake. Getting to Central park specifically in that time I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-drive-to-central-park-from-milwaukee-in-14-hours-like-mapquest-says/674968/28 "2013-11-29T02:57:07Z")
The answer is obviously yes. In fact, by driving time alone, you could easily beat 13 hours, if you time it so you aren’t stuck in Chicago traffic. (You do have to stop for gas/bathroom/grab food, but that doesn’t take long.) New York traffic isn’t fun either but the city does function, and if you’re aggressive and arrive at the right time you can get to Central Park from the Lincoln Tunnel in not much time at all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-drive-to-central-park-from-milwaukee-in-14-hours-like-mapquest-says/674968.md?page=1)