EARLY ARRIVAL URGED FOR TRAFFIC TO ARENA STRAGGLERS FACE PARKING WOES.(Local)

Byline: Bill Schackner Staff writer

In the final hour before Frank Sinatra's sold-out show, about 4,000 cars are expected to converge on downtown lots and garages near the Knickerbocker Arena.

For that reason, police and civic center management are urging arena-goers to arrive a bit early, or to at least consider choosing exits on Interstate 787 other than the Empire Plaza exit ramps that will likely carry the bulk of tonight's arena traffic. While they insist there is ample parking, organizers say stragglers are their biggest traffic worry as the Knickerbocker Arena debuts.

"If people are expecting to come downtown in the last half hour and park in …