Navigating Summer Shore Traffic

Written by Laura Cerutti

New Jersey is known for many things, one of which is the 132 miles of beaches that come alive in the summer months. New Jersey’s beaches, affectionately known as the “Jersey Shore”, attract millions every year from all parts of New Jersey and neighboring states.  With masses flocking to the Jersey Shore, the coastal towns and beach-bound highways can get pretty crowded.

The Jersey Shore has been made famous in many ways, and infamous in countless others. Bruce Springsteen has written songs chronicling life along the Jersey coast, episodes of the famed mob drama, The Sopranos, were filmed at the shore, and MTV made it a national spectacle with a cast of obnoxious 20- and 30-somethings in a wild reality TV show simply titled “Jersey Shore”. For locals, the Jersey Shore is famous in another way, and that’s the “Shore Traffic” it creates on beach-bound highways.

As a summer-long renter in Manasquan and annual week-long vacationer in Long Beach Island, I have spent a lot of my summer sitting in traffic. I can confidently say that the Garden State Parkway and I have developed a serious love-hate-relationship. The Parkway may take me to my beloved shore, but not without paying the price in stop-and-go-traffic that is almost guaranteed on the weekends.

It is no secret that if you are not going to the shore, you should stay away from the Parkway at all costs on summer weekends. Southbound is stop-and-go starting on Fridays in the early afternoon through Saturday afternoon.  On Sundays, the traffic changes direction and northbound backs up when week-long renters and weekenders all make a mass exodus to head back home.

If you are a frequent traveler of the Parkway, you are probably well aware that the roadway divides… two times in a row into express and local lanes between milepost 125 and 104 both north and south bound. This double-whammy division makes drivers first go through either the EZ-Pass express or the regular toll booths to merge again for a brief second to instantly divide again into either the express or local roadways.  These division points cause major confusion and you can often see other drivers trying to cut across three to four lanes using the famous New Jersey driving maneuver, the “Jersey Slide”.

The best thing to do to avoid an accident at the division points is to prepare yourself before the first split at the tolls. Position yourself into the middle lanes of the roadway, that way it is safer for you to merge back again and then quickly go down your preferred path of the express or local.

So what is better? The express or the local? I always recommend taking the local lanes. The express cuts down to two lanes for most of the ride while the local remains a solid three.  If an accident or major delay were to occur, having three lanes to work with is always better than two. But if you find yourself stuck in a standstill on either the express or local to watch cars on the other side zoom by, there is a switch point right before exit 116 (near the PNC Bank Arts Center) where you can go from one roadway to the other.  Don’t be one of those people that drives over the grass median! That’s just asking for a ticket or worse, an accident.

If you want to avoid the Shore Traffic Blues, there are a couple of things you can do. Some options to consider are working out a summer schedule where you can get off work early on Fridays or working from home.  You can also try taking an alternate route to the shore, finding a carpool buddy, or taking the train!

The Parkway may be the most direct route to shore, but it is not the only. State Route 18 is another beach-bound highway that provides access to shore towns like Long Branch, Bradley Beach, and Belmar. Route 18 can be accessed from the Turnpike at Exit 9 (New Brunswick/East Brunswick) or from Route 287 South at Exit 10 (River Road) or Exit 8 (Centennial Ave.). State Route 35 is another highway that hugs the Jersey coastline passing through towns like Point Pleasant and Mantoloking and ending at the entrance of Island Beach State Park. Taking these alternatives may not be the most direct, but they could be useful on summer holiday weekends when the Parkway is overloaded.

One or two carpool buddies would also make the trip easier by reducing the amount of cars on the road. The trip will also will be less draining for the driver if they have someone to ride with. So next time you are heading down, see if any friends, family members, or coworkers are shore-bound that weekend and combine the ride!

And for those who want to avoid driving all together, NJ Transit also offers the Shore Express service. This one-seat weekend and holiday ride has direct trains out of New York City starting at 7:52 AM  and 10:01 AM stopping at Secaucus Junction and Newark Penn Station then to the coastal towns of Red Bank, Long Branch, Asbury Park, Bradley Beach, Belmar, Spring Lake, Manasquan, Point Pleasant Beach and Bay Head. Return trips depart Bay Head at 4:54 pm and 6:54 pm. This express service operates on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays starting on June 28 and continuing through September 1.