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As part of their review of the Idling By-law (no. 2007-266), Ottawa City staff have issued new recommendations for the By-law. These recommendations come to a joint meeting of the Environment and Climate Change and the Emergency Preparedness and Protective Services Committees (agenda here) this Thursday. Here’s what you need to know.
The recommendations are a product of public consultation and wide-ranging research on health standards and best practices in other comparable jurisdictions. The recommendations contain two main changes from the current bylaw:
- Reducing the maximum idling duration from 3 minutes to 1 minute
- Introducing a 5-minute idling limit when it’s colder than 0°C or warmer than 27°C (including Humidex)
But the by-law should go further. We made a series of recommendations at an earlier stage of the review, several of which weren’t incorporated. Here are our recommendations at this stage:
- Exemptions should not apply in school zones, as children’s respiratory systems are especially vulnerable to air pollution; a similar approach should be consider in other areas with high concentrations of vulnerable people, including daycares, community centres, libraries, and seniors’ homes.
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Signage advising drivers of the bylaw should be erected in these same areas, advising drivers of the by-law and the human harms that vehicle emissions cause. Drivers need to know the harms and consequences in the moment they are idling.
- Enforcement should be permitted by video submission. The City’s report cites technological limitations for their inability to pursue this option—their system that processes requests only permits attachments up to 6MB—but there is no reason this cannot be surmounted.
- Revenues from enforcement should go toward City programs and initiatives that help meet the City’s goal of reducing car dependency, such as School Streets or traffic calming, or the Road Safety Action Plan budget.
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The fine level should be reconsidered. Peer municipalities fine offenders between $100 and $150, while Ottawa’s fine is $500. This high level may be a deterrent to enforcement, and we think staff should consider a range.
- The City should include health impacts of air pollution in its cost analyses, since these impacts are considerable.
So what can you do? A few things:
- Sign up to delegate at the joint committee meeting on September 19 (instructions on the agenda)
- Contact your councillor or committee members to express your views
- Share this post with your loved ones and colleagues
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