From Uber drivers to Zuckerberg’s security officers, Palo Alto has an idling problem

The Mercury News ^ | June 15, 2017 | Jacqueline Lee

[lacrew]

Shelly Gordon, who serves on the executive committee of the Loma Prieta chapter of the Sierra Club, says Palo Alto city leaders can help solve the problem by adopting a vehicle anti-idling ordinance.

The ordinance could ban vehicles from idling for longer than one minute, unless they’re waiting for traffic lights to turn green.

Council members say an anti-idling ordinance would help the city make headway on its Sustainability/Climate Action Plan goal of reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent from 1990 levels by the year 2030. Palo Alto also is trying to reduce the number of people driving alone in the city and considering other ways to reduce car travel, such as eliminating free public parking.

Earlier this year, students Andy Zeng, Rachel Loewy and Tanli Su, members of the Sierra Club Youth Climate Action Leadership Team, monitored and educated parents and students at Hoover Elementary School about idling.

Over a two-week period, the students monitored parents picking up students and counted 162 of them idling for more than 60 seconds and about 40 for more than 10 minutes.

To address this issue, the students handed out pledge cards for parents to sign.

[lacrew]

I’ve never been to Palo Alto, but where I’m at, defrosting my windshield 59 seconds at a time would be frustrating. Reminds me of prisoner toilets that allocate a certain number of flushes per day.

[M Kehoe]

“says Palo Alto city leaders can help solve the problem “

They never say what the “problem” is.

Is their problem in Palo Alto stupidity?

5.56mm

[rlmorel]

Yep.

Or...wearing revealing clothes...

[Gay State Conservative]

I’ve never been to Palo Alto, but where I’m at, defrosting my windshield 59 seconds at a time would be frustrating. Reminds me of prisoner toilets that allocate a certain number of flushes per day.

Yup,in January 0F at 7AM is not uncommon in my driveway and -10F at 7AM is not unheard of.

And in July 95F is not uncommon and 100F is not unheard of.

And there's Minnesota in January and Arizona in July.

[Behind the Blue Wall]

Aww, my home town. I know I’m probably out of step with the majority here, but I’m OK with an idling ordinance. Unlike idiotic global warming regulations that have zero actual positive impact on anyone’s lives other than those who are in line for the slush funds, in this case, if you have a couple of heavy-duty diesel trucks and construction vehicles parked across the street from your house, unnecessarily idling all day long, there’s an impact there — noise, fumes, etc. Absent an ordinance, they’ll maybe shut it off when possible out of courtesy, or maybe they won’t, but I could see an ordinance being helpful in motivating people to do so as a matter of course. For the record, it would almost never be necessary to idle for heat or A/C in Palo Alto, it has one of the most moderate climates on Earth, made even more so by a lush tree cover across the entire city.

[Behind the Blue Wall]

I’m assuming you don’t live in Palo Alto.

[lacrew]

There’s a difference between idling in the street all day and being forced to shut you car off every 59 seconds in the drive through lane. Btw most cities already have laws about unattended vehicles idling that would take care of the vehicles that run all day.

[Gay State Conservative]

I’m assuming you don’t live in Palo Alto.

No,I don't...I live in the Northeast.My guess is that you live in.or near,Palo Alto.If I'm correct tell me where I'm wrong about the weather there.

[Behind the Blue Wall]

I grew up there, and live about a half an hour away. The weather there rarely ever dips below freezing or above 85 degrees.

[Gay State Conservative]

I grew up there, and live about a half an hour away. The weather there rarely ever dips below freezing or above 85 degrees.

OK...as I suspected living that close to the Pacific means that temperature extremes requiring prolonged idling is almost unheard of.Contrast that to an event a few years ago in a town about 50 miles west of me where the low temperature was -40F.

I kid you not!

[Behind the Blue Wall]

Whoa!

[Gay State Conservative]

Whoa!

Yup...the reason I recall it is because on that very same morning I was in a town in central Quebec (200 miles north of Montreal) where the low temperature was also -40F.If I had been subject to a 1 minute idling limit there I would have been stranded.I let the car idle for 10 minutes before I dared put it into Drive...and I kept the speed at 30MPH for about 30 miles after I started out.

[Don W]

The exact tactic used to vilify tobacco use back when I was in grade school.

Same people, same overall goal: Increased control over the populace.