# NYC highways or I'm so confused! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 10, 2003, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-highways-or-im-so-confused/180914 "2003-06-10T17:37:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-highways-or-im-so-confused/180914/21 "2003-06-11T12:58:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by postcards \* > \*\*One hint about roads in NYC: > Parkways: Cars only. > Expressways: Cars **and** trucks > And even if they did connect the Nassau Expressway ramp with the Nassau ‘Expressway’ I _still_ wouldn’t use it; the old way through the local streets is always going to be the fastest way to the Atlantic Beach Bridge. (And let’s not bring up the subject of tolls when it comes to _that_ masterpiece of political patronage and theft!) \*\* Note at the end of my rambling post last night that I said Commercial traffic, not trucks. One exception now is ‘Pickups are allowed on the Parkways without caps’ (this used to be a rather silly rule, in that only Pickups with semi-permenant caps AND seats in the bed were allowed on the parkway). There might be more, but in general **Commercial** vehicles are not allowed on Parkways (and I think this rule includes automobiles with Commercial [NOT Livery] plates). The completed Nassau Expressway would be useful, as Rockaway Blvd isn’t all that great (too many lights, too low a speed limit, often congested because of the lights and low speed limit) - now, if they made Rockaway Blvd the expressway (i.e. limited-access in the middle, service roads for the various strip malls, and a flyover to access the existing portion of the Nassau “Expressway”, that would work fine. ---
**Author:** ![NYR407](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@NYR407](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NYR407)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-highways-or-im-so-confused/180914/22 "2003-06-11T13:46:07Z")
**cmkeller** , I agree with all your answers (since they match mine) with the exception of one. You can not get from the Jackie Robinson to the LIE without using a connecting roadway (the GCP or Van Wyck). Biggirl’s question was a trick as the JRP does not end at either the LIE or the Northern State (by a technicality since it is called the GCP in Queens). ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-highways-or-im-so-confused/180914/23 "2003-06-11T14:43:15Z")
**cmkeller** , I second **NYR407**. > [@](#): > > Whenever I go down there, I absolutely, positively have to take the train. I can’t drive down, because A) it’s a pain in the ass, and B) I always get lost in Brooklyn. Even if I’m supposed to be in Staten Island, I end up lost in Brooklyn. That borough must be an idiot magnet or something. Shhh, else they will start moving to Queens. We like to keep their kind together. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-highways-or-im-so-confused/180914/24 "2003-06-11T18:44:42Z")
OK, OK, I’m wrong about the Robinson. :smack: Now, I’ll post a puzzler of my own, which I haven’t been able to figure out. Why does the Southern State Parkway start with exit 13? I’m pretty well up on which NY-area highways lead into which others, but I can’t find any highway that connects to the Western end of the Southern State from which the numbering had been continued. To the best of my knowledge, the only connecting highways at that end are the Belt and the Cross Island, which is really a continuation of the Belt. Anyone know what’s up with that one? Chaim Mattis Keller ---
**Author:** ![NYR407](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@NYR407](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NYR407)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-highways-or-im-so-confused/180914/25 "2003-06-11T19:14:58Z")
[http://www.nycroads.com/roads/southern/](http://www.nycroads.com/roads/southern/) Quote: ABOUT THE EXIT NUMBERING: Why does the exit numbering on the Southern State Parkway begin at EXIT 13 (Central Avenue)? Originally, the Southern State Parkway continued the exit numbering scheme of the Cross Island Parkway. The sequential numbering scheme began at EXIT 1 (Whitestone Parkway-Whitestone Bridge) and continued to EXIT 12 (Laurelton Parkway-Belt Parkway) before continuing along the Southern State Parkway. It was not until the late 1960’s that the Cross Island Parkway adopted the numbering scheme of the Belt Parkway. * * * From the web site in Reality Chucks post at the top. ---
**Author:** ![Dragonblink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Dragonblink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragonblink)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2003, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-highways-or-im-so-confused/180914/26 "2003-06-11T22:54:55Z")
All I can say is, I’m glad us Angelenos don’t have a monopoly on confusing highways. Here, as long as you focus on the numbers instead of the names (which I swear the traffic reporters make up on the fly) and realize that the 405 only moonlights as a freeway (its day job is Parking Lot) you’re okay. Not many toll roads neither. Seriously, NYC strikes me as a hellish place to drive. Is it really as scary as it looks? – Dragonblink, in the land of the 50mph surface street speed limit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyc-highways-or-im-so-confused/180914.md?page=1)