DEP Invoice or Financial Record, September 30, 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

on Lone Drivers at Some New York Gates By RANDY KENNEDY Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani said and New Jersey, which operates the Inspections were being made yesterday that the police would bar Lincoln Tunnel, and the Triborough cars carrying only one person from mostly of buses and trucks, not cars, Bridge and Tunnel Authority, which because security experts believe crossing into Midtown and Lower operates the Queens-Midtown Tun­ that a car could not carry enough Manhattan on weekday mornings, nel, in placing the same restrictions explosives to cripple a bridge or tun­ starting tomorrow, a response to at those crossings. nel, according to one police official. crushing traffic jams that have The bridge and tunnel agency, a Yesterday, those checkpoints ap­ spread for miles as a result of securi­ part of the Metropolitan Transporta­ peared to become much stricter and ty checkpoints. tion Authority, which also runs the drivers reported that even private The decision — which city trans­ subways and buses, was said yester­ minivans carrying families and chil­ portation officials had been urging day to favor the idea. That is in part dren were being pulled over and ex­ the mayor to make for the last week because the subways have been car­ amined near bridges and tuimels. — was an indication of just how bad rying only about 80 to 85 percent of The checks, coupled with a handful of traffic across the metropolitan re­ their regular ridership since the accidents and other delays caused by gion has become since the attack on Sept. 11 attacks, a decline that should construction, caused traffic to back the World Trade Center, causing be addressed, Mr, Giuliani said yes­ up for miles into Queens and Brook­ cars and trucks from gridlocked terday. lyn from as early as 5:30 a.m. until highways to spill back onto local City officials said that on an aver­ after noon. roads as far away as Nassau County age weekday, roughly two-thirds of One man described how a normal and many miles into New Jersey, the vehicles in Manhattan south of half-hour commute from the Queens- long after regular rush-hour jams 96th Street are single-occupancy ve­ Nassau County border to the Mid­ hicles. town Tunnel had turned into a two- Usually abate. They said the ban would not apply hour crawl yesterday. ! The traffic jams have been caused, to cars with Taxi and Limousine A city official warned drivers not in part, by bridge and tunnel closings Commission license plates, meaning to expect much better:“It’s not go­ and the cordoning off of Lower Man­ medallion and livery cabs and limou­ ing to go back to the way it was in the hattan. But the heightened security sines based in New York City. It foreseeable future.” at nearly every crossing into the city would also not apply to any vehicles is. the main factor causing the grid­ with commercial license plates, even lock. And yesterday — as Attorney to vans or cars with such plates General John Ashcroft warned in whose drivers are conducting busi­ Washington that there was a “clear ness or carrying goods'into the city. and present danger” of additional And people who live in Manhattan terrorist attacks that could include could take their cars on the streets trucks carrying hazardous chemi­ without passengers, officials said, cals — the checks were made much but if they left the island and tried to stricter. return, they could be prevented from Asked yesterday if the security doing so during the restricted hours. checkpoints around the city were the “If you’re a delivery guy, clearly result of a specific or credible threat, we want you to get into the city Mr. Giuliani said no, but added that without as much of a problem,” a “we’re more sensitive to threats that senior city official said. are received that — maybe six But the remedy announced by the months ago or, not even six months mayor raised a long list of logistical ago, three weeks ago — you would questions that city officials were un­ have said: ‘There’s another nut able to answer yesterday. How and that’s calling.’ ” where would single-occupancy vehi­ The result of the heightened secu­ cles be stopped? Would they be rity, all day, everywhere around the turned around, on already gridlocked city, was a system almost at the highways, or just ticketed? breaking point, even delaying the “Those are things we are trying to Yankees game by half an hour last night because fans could not get to Yankee Stadium. “Traffic today was frankly the work out right now,” a city official said. Officials said the ban would be the first time in more than 20 years that bjifTimes worst that many at Transportation had seen in recent memory,” said Tom Cocola, a spokesman for the city’s Department of Transportation. such restrictions had been placed on cars entering Manhattan. During a subway strike in 1980, when added vehicular traffic created scenes of A-aioOi “It was hell. AU the arteries were gridlock similar to those now. single­ clogged because of the checkpoints, occupant cars were temporarily barred from entering south of 96th and the rain didn’t help either. It was Street during the morning rush hour. bad.” Since the World Trade Center at­ City officials said the ban would tack, the police have set up check­ apply to cars entering Manhattan points at most of the crossings into south of 62nd Street between 6 a.m. the city and are stopping many vehi­ and noon weekdays on all the East cles to make sure they are not carry­ River bridges that the city controls. ing explosives or other dangerous The city also expects the cooperation of the Port Authority of New York cargo.

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