Peconic Bay Ferry Feasibility Study Approved Amid East End Traffic Concerns

Regional planners approved more than $200,000 to study whether a passenger ferry system across Peconic Bay could finally offer North and South Fork commuters a workable alternative to some of Long Island's most congested roads, with six candidate ports and a completion deadline of March 2028.

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Council voted unanimously on Feb. 26 to fund the feasibility study as part of a broader $4.5 million package covering more than a dozen Long Island transportation projects. The Peconic Bay study will evaluate routes and terminal locations across Greenport, Orient, Montauk, Riverhead, Sag Harbor and North Sea, weighing navigational feasibility, available dockage, connections to other transit modes, and whether public or private operation makes more sense. The study will also consider whether amphibious buses could serve some corridors.

Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine framed the effort squarely around traffic: "We continue to explore all travel alternatives to ease the traffic that continues to make it incredibly difficult for those driving on the East End."

Suffolk County Deputy Planning Commissioner Elisa Picca, speaking at the NYMTC meeting, said the study would pursue every option available. "We don't want to leave any stone unturned," she said, before raising the central logistical question planners will need to answer: "How are you going to get people on and off the ferry, and where is that going to take place? And is that going to interrupt a village, a community? This should be to foster mobility, so we have to find that right balance."

County spokesman Michael Martino confirmed the study is expected to begin later this year, with results not due until March 2028.

The proposal revives an idea with a short but instructive history on the bay. Peconic Jitney, a subsidiary of Hampton Jitney, ran a pilot ferry between Mitchell Park Marina in Greenport and Sag Harbor in 2012, a program that was suspended when federal and state funding failed to materialize. The Suffolk County Legislature approved a new ferry license and rates for Peconic Jitney in 2022, but that plan was also short-lived.

Sag Harbor Mayor Thomas Gardella said the 2012 pilot demonstrated real demand. "Locals used it," he said, adding that while the village had seen prior ferry proposals, this would be the first for a bay-wide program. He predicted the village board would likely "get behind it." In 2022, Sag Harbor approved docking at Long Wharf for the Jitney ferry, though Gardella made clear a car ferry was a non-starter given the village's infrastructure limits.

Reaction among East End officials was cautiously optimistic but grounded in practical concerns. Greenport Mayor Kevin Stuessi called passenger ferry commuting a "fantastic" idea while warning that docking logistics would be a serious challenge. That concern has specifics: a local Greenport official, Ms. Phillips, noted that placing a terminal at Mitchell Park Marina or the railroad dock would not help commuters because the area already has its own parking problems.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin said the idea was worth pursuing if the environmental and community calculus holds up. "As long as it's smart for the environment and smart for the people, then I think exploring that to enhance people's commutes is great. I'm interested to see what the report comes back with." Southold Police Chief Steve Grattan added that any serious effort to ease congestion on the North Fork was welcome.

The study will survey shellfish growers, harbor masters and residents, and the plan commits to ensuring concerns about noise, traffic and environmental impacts are incorporated from the outset. NYMTC Executive Director Adam S. Levine described the investment as part of the council's mission to build infrastructure that "strengthens connectivity, opportunity and resilience for generations to come."

The NYMTC budget that funded the ferry study also includes separate Suffolk County projects: a redesign of the Huntington Area Rapid Transit system, a freight rail study aimed at reducing truck traffic, an evaluation of coastal evacuation routes, and traffic safety improvements in Selden and Farmingville.