The city’s new transportation commissioner is out to paint the town green – and congestion pricing isn’t the only way.
Streets throughout the five boroughs will soon be paved with recycled materials, the Staten Island Ferry may switch from gasoline to biofuel, and emissions will be lowered on all city vehicles, Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan told The Post.
“We want to switch to cleaner, greener ways of doing business,” she said. “To green a great metropolis in all its glory is to be a model for the nation.”
One of the city’s asphalt plants currently uses a mix of 40 percent recycled concrete. A second such plant will be built, and the recycled materials will become the majority ingredient.
Central to improving the city’s air and traffic jams is the mayor’s congestion-pricing plan, Sadik-Khan said.
Also, the city can do much more to encourage bicycling, she said, noting that only 1½ percent of commuters currently pedal to work, compared with up to 30 percent in some European cities.
“There’s no question there is a lot of room to grow,” she said.