NYC's $38M Pledge Will Help Tap 'Blue Highway' For Water Delivery

NEW YORK CITY — An underused "blue highway" surrounds New York City that can help reduce congestion and create an environmentally friendly way to get goods into the city.

Or so said Mayor Bill de Blasio and other city officials Wednesday.

De Blasio announced his administration added $38 million in funding to make freight more sustainable by using waterways, rail and green delivery options.

The funding includes $18 million for a new Blue Highways pilot program designed to spur investments in marine vessels to transport goods into and around the city. The program also encourages the use of sustainable last mile delivery solutions like electric trucks and commercial cargo bicycles.

"Transportation is the second-biggest sector when it comes to solution and emissions," de Blasio said. "It is a big part of the challenge. Big trucks cause congestion, 18-wheelers, we need to have fewer and fewer of those in the city. New Yorkers do not like congested streets, do no like trucks spewing pollution all around their neighborhood."

Ninety percent of goods that move around New York City are moved by large trucks, the result of the shift from rail and water networks to highways in the second half of the 20th century, de Blasio said. To cut down on congestion and pollution, he and his administration are looking to re-engage "the blue highway" to make deliveries safer, faster and more sustainable.

"The water is our future. It was our past. This was one of the great maritime cities of the world for centuries. We need to look to the water again," he said. “Some call it the ‘blue highway.’ Right there, you can see it. And it’s not very crowded at this point. There needs to be a lot more activity because we know so much that we move around the city could be done on the water."

The mayor along with officials from New York City Department of Transportation and the New York City Economic Development Corporation discussed the plans during a news conference at Pier 79 at West Side Highway and 39th Street on Wednesday afternoon.

"We have a global crisis bearing down on us, the crisis of climate change. We are feeling the effects more and more. Look at those tornadoes in the middle of our nation just days ago. It didn't used to happen like that. Look at what happened with Super Storm Sandy right here. There are so many examples right here," de Blasio said at the presser.

“As our demand for freight continues to increase, we cannot continue the historic mistake of relying on more oversized and polluting diesel trucks to handle the load,” said DOT Commissioner Hank Gutman. “They destroy our infrastructure, damage the public health and quality of life in our neighborhoods, clog our already overcrowded streets and hasten climate change. We must change course.

“New York City simply cannot continue the status quo where 90% of goods move into and around the five boroughs on trucks. That’s why we’re focusing on ways to shift more freight traffic away from our crowded roads and bridges, and onto rail and our waterways,” said NYCEDC President and CEO Rachel Loeb. “This new vision with our partners at DOT lays out the bold steps the City will take to fundamentally restructure the freight distribution system. This will strengthen the economy by making freight movement more efficient and contribute to a healthier environment for all our residents and the planet.”

City officials were also joined by Axel Carrion from UPS to make the announcement Wednesday's announcement at Pier 79, which included the backdrop of a New York Waterways passenger ferry that will moonlight for freight use, and pair with innovative technologies to get goods to the doorstep sustainably.

"For over 114 years, UPS has been looking for innovative ways to be more sustainable and sociably responsible," Carrion said. "We are open to exploring all modes of transportation possibilities, including our waterways."

Watch the news conference in its entirety of de Blasio and other city officials announcing plans for a sustainable freight system: