Shea Stadium Question
 

I am heading to Baltimore for a weekend.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35108383

We decided to go to a Mets game on the way from Hartford to Baltimore. Obviously, this means we will be driving to Shea.

How horrific is it leaving a Mets game to get to the NJ Turnpike?

We have reservations at a Days Inn along the Turnpike for the night before heading to Baltimore the following morning.

Or where is the easiest Subway station to park at that does not take long to get back to after the game. Presumably, it would be along the 7 line.

Are you going to an afternoon or evening game at Shea?

Night game. Meant to say that in my original post

I would stay at one of the hotels at LGA airport. The Holiday Inn LGA is right near Shea stadium. Park there and walk to the stadium. Don't try to get out to the Jersey tpke after the game.

Is it that bad?

Our hotel is already paid for so we don't really have a choice.

Is there an alternative where we could drive to and then take subway back to Shea that would save time after the game?

We may decide to leave the game early as we will be going to 3 more games that weekend.

Well, there will be after-the-game traffic, but so long as you are prepared for that, its an easy trip to the Turnpike. You'd head back into the city across the Triborough and then head over the GW to the turnpike. It will probably take an hour or so to reach the turnpike, considering post-game traffic and getting out of the parking lot.

By the way, its likely tough to park at Shea since the new stadium is rising in the former parking lot.

You can drive into Manhattan, and pay to park near Grand Central Station (my guess around $20 to park for the night), and take 7 train from GC to Shea. Then, take 7 back to Grand Central, and drive thru Lincoln Tunnel to turnpike.

Go to maps.google.com and get a route from shea stadium ny to wherever your hotel is. The traffic will depend somewhat on who they're playing and day of the week. If it's a Fri. night....I don't envy you. What month is this? You could also run into Jersey Shore traffic on a Fri. night.

If you can't cancel your hotel, I don't really see what driving out of your way to park elsewhere is going to save you. The subway to Shea is the #7.
http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm

Parking near another stop is not going to solve the problem imo. YOu're dealing not just with the traffic out of Shea, but crossing west to get to NJ.

Its a Thursday night game against the Dodgers in May - (Torre's return to NY) so I am expecting a sellout. Its not my choice to go to the game. Agreed that the subway wouldn't save us much. I'm thinking go to the game and try to leave early to get ahead of the crowd (as much as we can). We already got tickets cheap. Friend of mine got them from a coworker of his so I don't mind leaving early.

I'm used to after game traffic because of Fenway.

In theory, you don't have to drive thru Manhattan at all to get to NJ tpke. from Shea. If you don't want to park at Shea, you can park near the Lincoln Tunnel in Manhattan and use the #7 train to/from the stadium from Port Authority. Iconparking.com has a few lots near there (look in garment center district).

Looking at Google Maps, it looks like we could take the BQE (278 South) across the Verrazano Bridge to get to the NJ Turnpike. What do you think about this route?

I have no idea how bad the traffic would be. It's certainly the most straightforward way to go and avoid Manhattan.