East Side Residents Say Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge Traffic Is Keeping Them Awake
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Residents living near the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge have been suffering through long, sleepless nights lately.
As CBS2's Matt Kozar reported Friday night, residents said the honking and noise from traffic is worse than ever, and they want the city to do something about it.
The blaring of car horns is part of the symphony that is New York City. But people on the Manhattan side of the bridge said the noise level from the traffic has become unbearable.
"We're just getting more things added to our area," said resident Naomi Perle as Kozar noted that car horns were heard during his interview with her. "This goes on like this all the time."
Perle has lived in the neighborhood for three decades, and said people are cursing and shouting at drivers from their apartment windows.
Chopper 2 recorded a bird's eye view of traffic, which causes gridlock from 59th Street to 64th Street between First and Second avenues.
Google Maps showed Friday rush hour traffic at a standstill.
An estimated 175,000 vehicles travel across the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge each day. According to the city, that makes it the most utilized of the East River bridges.
Longtime area resident and East Sixties Neighborhood Association President Barry Schneider blamed Uber for contributing to the congestion, and traffic officers for not properly managing the flow of traffic.
He believes a toll on the bridge would help.
"If we had a toll on the Queensboro Bridge, one third of those vehicles would no longer be coming into Midtown Manhattan," Schneider said.
CBS2 asked Department of Transportation Manhattan Borough Commissioner Margaret Forgione for an on-camera interview. But instead, she sent a statement: "We are looking at various ways that can mitigate the traffic, including signal timing. We will work with the NYPD regarding enforcement about honking, which is not allowed unless in emergency situations."