April 22 (Bloomberg) -- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed charging fees to drivers entering the busiest part of Manhattan during peak traffic hours as part of a plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions and raise $30.9 billion by 2030 for mass-transit improvements.

Bloomberg sought a three-year pilot program for the fees, known as congestion pricing, that would cost most car drivers $8 and truckers $21 on weekdays between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. to travel south of 86th Street.

The mayor today outlined 127 initiatives aimed at cutting carbon emissions by 30 percent and readying the largest U.S. city for a projected population increase to 9.1 million from 8.2 million by 2030. Some of the proposals, including the traffic fees, require approval by the state Legislature, where opposition already is forming.

``As we look ahead at all the challenges we face in coming decades, I'd like to suggest something rather unorthodox for government, something unusual,'' Bloomberg, 65, said in an Earth Day speech at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. ``I'd like to suggest that we face up to those challenges not tomorrow, not in the future, not when it's too late, but right now.''

Year of Study

The mayor's proposals came after more than a year of study by a panel led by Daniel Doctoroff, the deputy mayor for economic development, in consultation with business leaders, academic and scientific experts, legislators and community representatives.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, without endorsing or rejecting any of Bloomberg's proposals, said the council will give them serious consideration in the weeks and months ahead.

``I don't think you can say, with a plan as big as this, that it's all going to happen or it's all not going to happen,'' Quinn, a Democrat, said.

City planners in a 155-page report recommended cleaning up 7,600 acres of contaminated land for housing and parks, and erecting decks over highways and rail yards, such as the Sunnyside Yards in Queens. The planners said housing should be built close to mass transit.

One million new trees would be planted around the city, for environmental as well as aesthetic benefits.

Electric Bill Surcharge

Bloomberg, a Republican, proposed surcharges of $2.50 a month on New Yorkers' electric bills to build a $2.9 billion fund for energy efficiency and cleaner power plants with increased generating capacity, saying it would reduce an average household's costs $230 a year by 2015.

To make more waterways clean enough for recreational use, the city would upgrade sewer systems to contain storm-driven overflows. In an experiment, the city will place ribbed mussels in a creek near a Queens wastewater plant because the sea creatures remove impurities from water.

Congestion pricing, the report said, would reduce the number of vehicles in the fee zone by 12 percent, curb emissions that may contribute to global warming, improve traffic flow and pay part of an estimated $50 billion needed to improve and expand mass transit.

Seeking State Aid

Only $19 billion is in hand or anticipated from existing sources such as federal aid, the report said. For the rest, Bloomberg will ask state lawmakers to create a Sustainable Mobility and Regional Transportation Financing Authority, supported by an estimated $400 million a year in congestion- pricing revenue and $200 million each from the city and state.

The bond-issuing authority, controlled equally by the city and state, would finance mass-transit projects while leaving their operation to existing agencies.

Christine Anderson, a spokeswoman for Governor Eliot Spitzer, in a statement before Bloomberg's speech said, ``We'll study his proposals closely and look forward to working with the mayor to address environmental issues such as global climate change.''

It would take at least 18 months and cost $225 million to get congestion pricing started, officials who developed the plan said. First, the city would offer better mass-transit choices to commuters beyond the reach of the city's subway system, including bus-only lanes and more express buses.

E-ZPass

The fees would be collected through E-ZPass, an automated toll-collection system already in use on bridges and tunnels, and by cameras that would read license plate numbers for billing vehicle owners.

The $8 charge would apply to the street grid below 86th Street, though not to motorists who stick to perimeter arteries, such as the West Side Highway and FDR Drive.

Motorists already paying bridge or tunnel tolls would get rebates for those amounts. People who travel only within the zone, such as residents of Manhattan south of 86th Street, would pay $4. Taxis, other cars for hire, buses and handicapped drivers would be exempt.

Kathryn Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City, a nonprofit organization of more than 100 chief executives, served on the plan's advisory committee. She said congestion pricing succeeded in London, where it began in 2003, and ``there's great enthusiasm about adopting it in New York, which has really gotten a reputation for immobility on its streets.''

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters, in a statement following Bloomberg's speech, said the congestion pricing plan ``is the kind of bold thinking leaders across the country need to embrace if we hope to win the battle against traffic congestion.''

`Non-Starter'

The response from officials whose constituents would shoulder the fees was mixed.

``I think congestion pricing is a non-starter,'' said State Senator John Sabini of Queens, the ranking Democrat on the transportation committee. ``We're one city. I don't think we should penalize people for where they live.''

Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, a Democrat from Westchester who chairs the assembly committee on authorities, which oversees the MTA, said, ``This is the ultimate gentrification of the city. You'll see plenty of BMW's, you just won't see Chevrolets.''

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz said he would want more exemptions -- for people who need to take cars into Manhattan ``for their livelihood'' and for senior citizens. He said the overall idea ``is worthy of serious consideration.''

Bloomberg, who sought feedback on his plan from New Yorkers in recent months, will end his second term in 2009. He is barred by law from seeking re-election.

``I will not spend my last 984 days in office pretending that all is fine and leaving these challenges to the next mayor, who may well pass them to his or her successor,'' Bloomberg said in his speech.

The mayor is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP.

To contact the reporters on this story: William Goldschlag in New York at wgoldschlag@bloomberg.net; Martin Z. Braun in New York at Mbraun6@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 22, 2007 18:04 EDT