KEN'S KORNER - JUNE 2006

NEW YORK’S GRIDLOCK SAM
By Author, Educator and Big City Driver Ken Skaggs

Have you ever wondered where the word “gridlock” came from? John Lindsay, former Mayor of New York City, proposed many innovative schemes to reduce traffic in Midtown Manhattan. Gridlock Sam (who was just plain Sam at the time) spent a lot of time on these plans, working with an old-time traffic engineer named Roy Cottam. One day Roy spoke of his fears saying, “If they closed the streets in the Theatre District, the grid system would lockup and all traffic would grind to a halt.” Sam and Roy soon juxtaposed the word, and the term “gridlock” was born, as was the popularity of one Gridlock Sam.

In 1980, when he was chief engineer in charge of traffic operations during the transit strike (that must have been a challenge in itself), Sam received a phone call from William Safire, the certifier of new words for the New York Times. “Gridlock, such a word cannot miss,” he wrote in his “On Language” column. Sam tried to share credit for the word with Roy, but he (Roy) didn’t want to be “blamed” for it. So, Sam became the father of the trendiest word of the nineties, which also earned him the moniker “Gridlock Sam”.

Sam is currently the traffic reporter for the NY Daily News. But, he doesn’t just report the traffic like so many other traffic reporters do - he has solutions. Every major city needs a Gridlock Sam. But so far, only New York City has one. Well, they have him, the original, “Gridlock Sam” Schwartz. Every day in his column, he not only tells his readers where the construction work is and where the major bottlenecks will occur (and of course how to get around them), but then he goes beyond that and makes some recommendations and proposals to the City of New York, the Department of Transportation and other decision makers who have the power to make these changes. And sometimes, they actually listen.

He began his career as a taxi driver in New York City. That was how he learned the streets. Unlike many other traffic reporters, who study the ins and outs of traffic in a classroom, he learned behind the wheel, which is the only place you really can learn, in my opinion. So, when he finds a congested area, he actually knows which way to go to get around it - not by reading a map, but by experience.
Of course, he also has a “real” education too. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with an M.S. in Civil Engineering, a B.S. from Brooklyn College and is currently a doctoral candidate at Polytechnic University. He is one of the leading traffic engineers in the United States today. His expertise extends into the areas of regional planning and development, urban design and civil engineering. He is regarded as New York City’s authority on issues of urban infrastructure, traffic safety and transportation systems.

Like many of us, Sam hates traffic. When you read his bio, the first thing it says is, “I hate traffic.” In fact, you can buy a t-shirt on his website with “I hate traffic” on it. When I read, “Gridlock Sam Schwartz, I hate traffic”, it brought to mind the opening line at an Alcoholics Anonymous type of meeting, where I too would be happy to report that my name is Ken and I hate traffic too! Be sure to check out Sam’s website when you get a chance. You can read some of his columns and his current proposals for change. He even explains the Physics of Traffic.

Currently on his website, he has “Figure out How to Decongest New York,” a thirty-one page proposal on decongesting New York City. Having been there many times myself, I must say, I think he has something here. It’s pretty radical though, and I’m not sure the authorities will actually do it, although they should. He proposes things that make good common sense, which of course confuses most Government officials. And he simplifies it in such a way that I’m sure, once again, would confuse most Government officials.

For example, the way the tolls are set up around the NY metro area just doesn’t make sense. Some roads have tolls going into the city and others have tolls going out. This system is creating havoc because the people who know these roads are taking the least expensive way, which causes huge back-ups, or dare I say, gridlock. He proposes simply putting tolls on all roads leading into the city and none on the roads leading out. This is so simple and makes so much sense to me, that, I’m sure the NY D.O.T. will have to have several conferences to grasp it, before they propose complicating it even worse. Plus, the toll prices are inconsistent and dysfunctional. Cars pay four dollars here, six dollars there and eight dollars somewhere else, while trucks pay thirty dollars here and twenty dollars there, etc. He proposes a set price for cars and a set price for trucks, at all tolls, and eliminating tollbooths in favor of EZ Pass technology. Again, this makes too much sense for some to grasp.

If you are planning a visit to New York City, you can find out where to park, where not to park, which routes to take, which ones to avoid, get a current traffic report and more - just go to Sam’s website at www.gridlocksam.com. He even goes into great detail about how to avoid getting your car towed, which is a huge problem in New York City. There is even a link where NY City residents can look up the status of a parking ticket. Gridlock Sam is one of a kind, and a real character. In fact, there is a cartoon drawing of Gridlock Sam on his website. Be sure to check it out, even if you don’t plan on visiting New York City, and be sure to read his column in the New York Daily News at www.nydailynews.com.

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