OT.Is the signage leaving Newark Airport confusing to only me?

[ruready4somefootball]

Dropped my son off this morning for a business flight to Chicago and it's like the 4th time in the last 2 years I've driven one of my kids there for a variety of reasons. Each time, I'm looking for the Turnpike South, and end up either on the way to the Turnpike North or Rt 1&9 North. I was able to get off on Rt1&9 and follow signs for the Turnpike where again, there is no sign for Turnpike South because I had traveled to the beginning of the Turnpike where South is the only way to go,lol. There must be another sign that doesn't actually say Turnpike South that I'm missing. Friday night, I get to try it all over again as I'm picking him up.

 

[ElmiraExpress]

Dropped my son off this morning for a business flight to Chicago and it's like the 4th time in the last 2 years I've driven one of my kids there for a variety of reasons. Each time, I'm looking for the Turnpike South, and end up either on the way to the Turnpike North or Rt 1&9 North. I was able to get off on Rt1&9 and follow signs for the Turnpike where again, there is no sign for Turnpike South because I had traveled to the beginning of the Turnpike where South is the only way to go,lol. There must be another sign that doesn't actually say Turnpike South that I'm missing. Friday night, I get to try it all over again as I'm picking him up.

This has happened to me several times. The signs are actually correct, but you really have to pay very close attention. When you get on 1 & 9 and recognize your mistake, then it is tough, at least for me, to get my way back to the turnpike which is particularly frustrating after a long flight.

 

[iReC89]

Just follow the signs to Ikea!

Its been a while, but look for a quick left fork near 1&9 coming out of the airport, and yes, its easy to miss. I don't think there are any Ikea signs in that area - that was for a previous thread.

 

[RU4Real]

It's definitely not clear. If you're heading north out of the airport to get onto the TP at 14 it's more confusing than heading south on 1&9 out of the airport to get on the TP at 13A.

 

[superfan01]

Very difficult

 

[ngrant]

Very difficult

Off,off topic but wanted to go to Holland Tunnel, not Lincoln from the airport. Got on Turnpike North and did not see signs for Holland Tunne, so I assume already passed the exit for Holland Tunnel. Can you go straight north of the airport to get into Holland Tunnel?

 

[RUboston]

You guys should try Logan sometime!

 

[RU4Real]

Off,off topic but wanted to go to Holland Tunnel, not Lincoln from the airport. Got on Turnpike North and did not see signs for Holland Tunne, so I assume already passed the exit for Holland Tunnel. Can you go straight north of the airport to get into Holland Tunnel?

The Holland Tunnel from the airport requires following signage for I-78 / NYC.

 

[RUBigFrank]

signage has been poor for years - difficult to ascertain Turnpike North or South via 1-9 or I-78. There are tree branches blocking signage within the airport road system.

 

[ho26rus]

there is only one sign for 78west an if you miss it then 10-15 minutes to correct the miss

 

[RURM85]

I always struggle getting to P1/P3 parking lot and end up going around the terminals again. Signs not clear at all.

 

[RUMBA-JK]

It is classic NJ - much of the rules & information regarding traffic is governed by folklore - no written documentation - just word of mouth - - - like "traffic circles" - unlike England's 'rotaries' which give the right of way to the car in the rotary, there does not seem to be one set of universal rules - here in NJ it is necessary to understand the local custom for each 'circle' .

regarding Newark airport - I can remember a period of time when it seemed like they instituted new traffic patterns & put up new (cryptic) signage on an almost weekly basis

 

[RUevolution36]

Doesn't matter how you get to Turnpike. Every NJTPK tollbooth gives you the option to go north or south.

 

[VirtualKnight]

Doesn't matter how you get to Turnpike. Every NJTPK tollbooth gives you the option to go north or south.

Yes, but if you're going south, you want to get on at 13A, not 14. Extra time and Extra tolls.

 

[RU#1fan]

That sign has been confusing for over 20 years and has never been corrected.

 

[dollarbill]

Driving to an airport is stressful enough without this situation. $$$$

 

[megadrone]

It's New Jersey. You're supposed to know where you're going before you get there. At least, that's the impression I get based on lack of signage throughout the state.

 

[brgossRU90]

It's better than it used to be but still not easy. However, much the same can be said for other airports/places in america AND europe, and I suspect everywhere else.

 

[JPhoboken]

This has happened to me several times. The signs are actually correct, but you really have to pay very close attention. When you get on 1 & 9 and recognize your mistake, then it is tough, at least for me, to get my way back to the turnpike which is particularly frustrating after a long flight.

This. Or you could end up anywhere.

 

[Upstream]

- - - like "traffic circles" - unlike England's 'rotaries' which give the right of way to the car in the rotary, there does not seem to be one set of universal rules - here in NJ it is necessary to understand the local custom for each 'circle' .

By NJ law, unless there are yield or stop signs indicating otherwise, vehicles in the traffic circle have right of way to vehicles entering the circle. Think of the circle as an intersection; vehicles in an intersection have right of way to vehicles entering an intersection.

 

[OTBOTOR]

Do any of you guys use turn-by-turn nav systems?

When you're on the "loop road" and pass Terminal C, the road splits. There are 2-3 big signs that tell you to go left for Turnpike South, 1-9, 22, 21, or go right for Turnpike North, 78, GSP. Left takes you south on 1/9 to Exit 13A, right takes you north on the airport access road to Exit 14. Even if you make the wrong choice, as others mentioned, you end up just one exit out of your way (actually, even if you go left toward Tpk South, there's a ramp to 1/9 north you could take to get back up to Exit 14). You can go north or south on the Turnpike from either exit.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.693...fAE5rYAixfoKTMSTt2A!2e0!7i3328!8i1664!6m1!1e1

 

[RutgersRaRa]

Driving to an airport is stressful enough without this situation. $$$$

Yep, and it's this way everywhere. Some time ago I was trying to find the way to San Jose, as I'd been away so long I'd lost my way. Never found it, and it plagues me to this day. Who knows how my life would've turned out.


Wait a tic, that might not have been me.

 

[rutgersdave]

It's Flood's fault.

 

[RUMBA-JK]

By NJ law, unless there are yield or stop signs indicating otherwise, vehicles in the traffic circle have right of way to vehicles entering the circle. Think of the circle as an intersection; vehicles in an intersection have right of way to vehicles entering an intersection.

Of course that is what they say ... but you better have your head on a swivel & your foot poised to hit the brake or gas - or be ready to visit the body shop!

The old Somerville circle was a nightmare ... new is only slightly better because the straight through 202 traffic goes overhead -

 

[j10oreo]

I didn't find it complex but only because I use to have to travel to EWR on a daily basis. Now that I think about it however, compared to other airports I have been to it's definitately more complicated by comparison. Part of that I believe is due to completely separated terminals and a heavy load of congestion. I did find George Bush International in Houston to be a helluva lot more mind boggling though.

 

[RUsig]

If any of you use Waze around the airport, be careful. Leaving EWR this past weekend, I wanted to first make a pit stop in Iselin, Waze took my of the Turnpike, into Elizabeth before re-routing me right back on. Even the GPS gets confused in Newark.

 

[RUsSKii]

Do any of you guys use turn-by-turn nav systems?

When you're on the "loop road" and pass Terminal C, the road splits. There are 2-3 big signs that tell you to go left for Turnpike South, 1-9, 22, 21, or go right for Turnpike North, 78, GSP. Left takes you south on 1/9 to Exit 13A, right takes you north on the airport access road to Exit 14. Even if you make the wrong choice, as others mentioned, you end up just one exit out of your way (actually, even if you go left toward Tpk South, there's a ramp to 1/9 north you could take to get back up to Exit 14). You can go north or south on the Turnpike from either exit.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.693...fAE5rYAixfoKTMSTt2A!2e0!7i3328!8i1664!6m1!1e1

Nope. Road signage should be clear, comprehensive, and simple enough that even drivers with little to no knowledge of the area can understand. I understand the allure of phone GPS and like using it for new local routes and finding the fastest ways around traffic, but anyone depending on that for all their driving without at least a working knowledge of major highways and daily routes is putting themselves in a bad position.

And the point was already made that nobody should end up having to pay the extra toll to travel an additional exit on the NJ Turnpike just because of poor signage. I once took the wrong turn the same way the OP did, but instead took a 10-minute detour down 1/9 local and some creepy U-turns.

 

[Skull83]

Thanks for starting this thread. I go to the airport at least a few times every year, and I'm in the area plenty of other times, so luckily I know my way around. But just about every time we get back from Europe, my fiancé and I comment on what a nightmare leaving EWR must be for a foreigner visiting for the first time who rents a car! I suspect a lot of the problem is not just the signage, but the nature of all the intersecting/merging highways in such close proximity to the airport. It can be quite the adventure.

 

[Blitz8RUCrazy]

It's even worse to navigate that at night. It's very tricky and you need to keep your eyes peeled to not get waylaid out of newark airport. A GPS app like google maps should make it easier though

 

[RU848789]

I do a lot of driving and I've always thought NJ generally had the best signed roads anywhere. Hell, the Parkway signs start in Ohio, lol - only half kidding - there are many places where you can be miles from the GSP or NJTPK and can follow signs every 1/2 mile to mile or so and get there. Of course, there are confusing spots, too, like the exit from EWR to the SB TPK or trying to follow the signs for the TPK South from the GW Bridge, but I've taken each enough to not get confused by the crappy signage.

Question: all things being equal (i.e., no major known traffic messes), after the Raritan toll on the GSP heading south, do you take the Express or the Local? This is actually a trick question, since it's better to take the local 99% of the time - less traffic, partly because the express squeezes down to 2 lanes after the PNC Bank Art Center, if I recall correctly, while the local is 3 lanes the whole way.

 

[RUsSKii]

I do a lot of driving and I've always thought NJ generally had the best signed roads anywhere. Hell, the Parkway signs start in Ohio, lol - only half kidding - there are many places where you can be miles from the GSP or NJTPK and can follow signs every 1/2 mile to mile or so and get there. Of course, there are confusing spots, too, like the exit from EWR to the SB TPK or trying to follow the signs for the TPK South from the GW Bridge, but I've taken each enough to not get confused by the crappy signage.

Question: all things being equal (i.e., no major known traffic messes), after the Raritan toll on the GSP heading south, do you take the Express or the Local? This is actually a trick question, since it's better to take the local 99% of the time - less traffic, partly because the express squeezes down to 2 lanes after the PNC Bank Art Center, if I recall correctly, while the local is 3 lanes the whole way.

I almost always take the local to get off onto Route 9 at Exit 123 (along with a whole bunch of other cars and buses). I'd imagine that the local lanes are usually smooth sailing from that point on.

 

[Will Scarlet]

On the topic of EWR, do any of you guys happen to have recommendations for accessible offsite long-term parking? I live in New York and seldom fly-out of Newark, but have a flight this weekend. Trying to make plans. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Upstream]

On the topic of EWR, do any of you guys happen to have recommendations for accessible offsite long-term parking? I live in New York and seldom fly-out of Newark, but have a flight this weekend. Trying to make plans. Any advice would be appreciated.

Don't you read the ribbon ads at Rutgers Stadium? The Parking Spot.

 

[zappaa]

The Parkway has some of the best signage in the country.
I often wonder how aghast visitors are trying to get to the Holland Tunnell from 280, I've been driving it for 40 years and still end up under bridges, next to abandon rail road tracks where the street is always wet, even thought it hasn't rained in days once in a while.
I still have no idea how I get there or where I am

 

[RUbacker]

Dropped my son off this morning for a business flight to Chicago and it's like the 4th time in the last 2 years I've driven one of my kids there for a variety of reasons. Each time, I'm looking for the Turnpike South, and end up either on the way to the Turnpike North or Rt 1&9 North. I was able to get off on Rt1&9 and follow signs for the Turnpike where again, there is no sign for Turnpike South because I had traveled to the beginning of the Turnpike where South is the only way to go,lol. There must be another sign that doesn't actually say Turnpike South that I'm missing. Friday night, I get to try it all over again as I'm picking him up.

It's you the signs are very clear leaving the airport. Do if all the time.

 

[Knight Shift]

On the topic of EWR, do any of you guys happen to have recommendations for accessible offsite long-term parking? I live in New York and seldom fly-out of Newark, but have a flight this weekend. Trying to make plans. Any advice would be appreciated.

We have used Corporate Airport Parking for years without complaint. Their facility is by far the most secure of the ones we have parked at. You have he option to park indoors, and if you park indoors, they wash your car for free. Right off McClellan Ave, near the Parking Spot big location.
https://www.longtermparking.com/airport-parking-coupons/84-corporate-airport-parking-newark.html

ABC Parking is very close to the Turnpike entrance on North Ave, right before the intersection where the Lookers club is. They are cheap and quick, but their lot is often pretty packed.

 

[zappaa]

It's you the signs are very clear leaving the airport. Do if all the time.

They aren't that clear, there's some awful merges

 

[RUBand]

Dropped my son off this morning for a business flight to Chicago and it's like the 4th time in the last 2 years I've driven one of my kids there for a variety of reasons. Each time, I'm looking for the Turnpike South, and end up either on the way to the Turnpike North or Rt 1&9 North. I was able to get off on Rt1&9 and follow signs for the Turnpike where again, there is no sign for Turnpike South because I had traveled to the beginning of the Turnpike where South is the only way to go,lol. There must be another sign that doesn't actually say Turnpike South that I'm missing. Friday night, I get to try it all over again as I'm picking him up.

They are confusing, but not as bad as driving into the Chicago area from the west.......so many choices, and you're on a highway going 60.....yikes

 

[RUBigFrank]

the sign post for the Turnpike from 1-9 South is past the exit ramp - easy to miss - and your in Elizabeth.

As far as off airport parking - try WallyPark they're relatively inexpensive and good service.

 

[Abro1975]

The Parking Spot RTS 1&9 / McCllelan Ave I always use. Coupons on their web site.