Few people are getting tickets for idling their vehicles, but a parking enforcement official says Peterborough’s six-year-old anti-idling bylaw is helping reduce emissions from parked cars nonetheless.
Documents released under municipal Freedom of Information legislation reveal there were just 11 tickets issued in 2012 and seven in 2013 under the anti-idling bylaw. The measure, introduced in 2008 to reduce air pollution and climate change-causing greenhouse gas emissions, bans idling a vehicle for more than two minutes. It was criticized at the time as unenforceable.
“Even though the numbers might be low, the conversation has started and the education process obviously has started,” said Dennis VanAmerongen, parking operations supervisor for the city.
According to Natural Resources Canada, if Canadian drivers all cut back on unnecessary idling by three minutes per day, the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions would be equivalent to taking 320,000 cars off the road.
VanAmerongen said parking enforcement officers mostly only issue tickets if an empty vehicle is left running while its driver pops into a store. If the driver or a passenger is in an idling vehicle, “most times” the officer will approach and explain the bylaw. “Nine times out of 10 people will comply and shut their vehicle off,” VanAmerongen said.
“And that’s really what we’re after, just to kind of educate the public and let them know that they really shouldn’t be doing it.”
There are several exemptions under Peterborough’s bylaw, including for police, fire and ambulance vehicles and transit vehicles while they embark and disembark passengers.
VanAmerongen said parking enforcement officers are less likely to ticket idlers on the kinds of extremely cold days Peterborough has seen plenty of this winter.
“We understand that people are just trying to keep their vehicles warm, especially if they have small children in the car,” he said. “So we’ll have that conversation with them, give them the information and if it’s only going to be a short while, then most of the time it’s fine.”
But one Peterborough resident, Megan Millette, got a $15 ticket for idling her car on a day in early January when the windchill dipped below minus 30 Celsius.
By the time she received it in the mail she couldn’t remember what she was doing on Jan. 2, the day the infraction was issued. And she’s not sure how she could have got it.
“I never idle, I always turn my car off, I never remember being on Water St. and idling,” Millette said. “I don’t ever remember leaving my car on and leaving. I would definitely turn it off and lock it before I left.”
She said she supports the bylaw even though she’s not pleased about her ticket.
“For the environment it’s good,” she said. But “the way they go about ticketing maybe needs to be different so people are aware right away” that they got a ticket.
The childcare worker said she is considering challenging the ticket, which will now cost her $31 because she didn’t pay it by the due date. “It’s something I’m thinking about, definitely.”
The city hasn’t collected statistics to determine if idling has decreased. But Otonabee ward councillor Lesley Parnell doesn’t think the bylaw is effective.
“Bylaw enforcement quite often is not the way to go,” she said, adding that the city should focus more on educating people about the environmental impacts of idling.
She said she agrees reducing emissions is important, but “enforcement is always an issue because you have to balance the resources you have with how you enforce your bylaws.”
“I do think the bylaw is a little bit flawed in our situation,” she added. “It’s not realistic in the Canadian winter and in the Canadian summer.”
Enforcement of anti-idling bylaws is a challenge in other cities as well. Only one ticket was issued under Toronto’s anti-idling bylaw last year. A ticket in that city will set you back $130 and can be issued after one minute of idling.
What is the information?
This is a summary of tickets issued by type by Peterborough bylaw officers between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013.
From which department and level of government were these pages obtained?
It was released under Ontario’s municipal Freedom of Information legislation from the City of Peterborough’s parking department.
Why was this information helpful?
This information was helpful because it revealed the exact number of tickets issued under the city’s relatively new anti-idling bylaw (it was introduced in 2008). It showed there were few tickets issued in 2013, raising the question of how effective the bylaw is in reducing idling.
What is the information?
This is a summary of tickets issued by type by Peterborough bylaw officers between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012.
From which department and level of government were these pages obtained?
It was released under Ontario’s municipal Freedom of Information legislation from the City of Peterborough’s parking department.
Why was this information helpful?
This information was helpful because it revealed the exact number of tickets issued under the city’s relatively new anti-idling bylaw (it was introduced in 2008). It showed there were few tickets issued in 2012, raising the question of how effective the bylaw is in reducing idling.