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Toronto sees another cash cow. Idling law to be 60 seconds and no weather exemptions
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| Jayx1 |
So now they expect us to freeze to death in our own cars. What a stupid law. The greedy bastards only see yet another cash grab using the excuse of the environment.
I guess if they had to enforce useful laws its would actually cost them money!
| quote: | Motorists have mostly ignored Toronto’s “toothless” efforts to discourage unnecessary idling. And no wonder, with an average of only 76 tickets a year being written for idling longer than three minutes.
To get them to pay attention to what they’re doing to the air, the board of health is thinking of reducing the legal idle time to just 60 seconds, eliminating a loophole that says you can idle if it’s very cold or very hot, and turning over enforcement to the city’s parking cops, who routinely write 2.9 million tickets a year.
Back in 1996, Toronto led the way in fighting smog-causing emissions by passing Canada’s first idling control bylaw, which set the limit at 3 minutes and offered a long list of exemptions from the $125 fine.
After a report on traffic pollution and illness in 2007, the board of health asked for a review, which resulted in the recommendation to cut permitted idling to one minute.
“Very clearly, if you limit idling to one minute rather than three, you’re going to generate far fewer pollutants and less greenhouse-gas emissions,” said Monica Campbell, manager of Toronto Public Health’s environmental protection office.
But a tougher bylaw will work only if it’s backed up by strong enforcement, says the chair of the board of health, Councillor John Filion.
He says the way to do that is to turn enforcement over to the “Blue Hornets,” the police parking enforcement unit. The current rate of ticket-writing — about one every five days — is laughable, said Filion. “Right now, we have this toothless bylaw. It’s very sporadic enforcement at best.”
Police Chief Bill Blair is receptive to taking over enforcement from the city if appropriate legal changes are made, he said.
The staff report also recommends removing the bylaw’s exemptions for times when the temperature is below 5C or over 27C. But it suggests continuing a health exemption, under which drivers are allowed to idle if they need to maintain the interior temperature for health reasons — for example, passengers who are infants or frail seniors — and can produce a doctor’s note to that effect.
One benefits of reducing the maximum idling time is that it makes enforcement easier, said Councillor Howard Moscoe, chair of council’s licensing and standards committee.
But it would be easier still if the time limit were thrown out and the offence were changed to idling while parked, Moscoe said. Then, motorists couldn’t shut off and then re-start their engines to stay legal.
“Parked vehicles shouldn’t be idling at all,” he said. “I think the time has come to make the idling bylaw a real bylaw.”
The bylaw has other problems, in particular the fact that it exempts TTC buses, says Councillor Howard Moscoe, chair of council’s licensing and standards committee.
“TTC vehicles are some of the worst offenders,” Moscoe said. “When a bus pulls into a terminal, it shouldn’t be idling, even in winter. Passengers wear winter clothing and there’s enough heat built up when the bus in enroute.”
By exempting hundreds of buses but expecting ordinary citizens to obey, the city loses credibility, he said.
“It’s a loophole you can drive a transit bus through,” he said. “It’s unconscionable to grant all these exemptions to city vehicles when you penalize citizens for doing the same thing.”
The TTC brags about the fuel it saves by using new hybrid diesel-electric buses, but it could save much more fuel by curbing unnecessary idling, Moscoe said.
However, according to the TTC, a bus needs to idle for two to three minutes after stopping to cool the turbocharger. “It’s a cooling-down issue that applies to all diesel engines, not just buses,” said Councillor Adam Giambrone, the TTC chair.
Giambrone said the TTC is looking at anti-idling technology that would shut down the bus after three minutes, should the operator fail to do so.
The board of health will consider changes to the bylaw at its next meeting May 3.
Appropriate public warnings should go out if the changes are made, Filion said. “If we were to start significant enforcement, we should also be warning people that they’re going to get a ticket. A lot of people right now, I think, are sort of oblivious to this bylaw.” |
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| Jayx1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by jester
Everything in this country illegal. |
LOL |
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| Special K |
if they are going to ban anything ... what they should really do is ban all drive thru's.
christ people are so ing lazy / fat. how hard is it to walk a few steps outside your car into god knows wherever to obtain whatever the hell it is that u want.
END RANT!!!!!!!! |
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| Jayx1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Special K
if they are going to ban anything ... what they should really do is ban all drive thru's.
christ people are so ing lazy / fat. how hard is it to walk a few steps outside your car into god knows wherever to obtain whatever the hell it is that u want.
END RANT!!!!!!!! |
huh?
whats it to u?
let them use drive thrus! if you feel enlightened enough to walk inside then do so! :P |
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| VDub |
Let's see if this will include all city vehicles, tow trucks, cabs, etc...
YAH RIGHT!!! |
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| Special K |
What's it to me is this ... how many cars do you see idling outside of any fast food place on a daily basis. Polluting the air to ! Why? Because people are too lazy to walk outside of the confines of their comfortable cars for a minute or two to obtain whatever fast food treat / coffee / whateveretc
This new enforcement of idling cars is total bs and a complete cash grab. Having said that I would fully support them banishing all drive thru's FOREVER!!! :p |
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| Jayx1 |
banning drive thrus based on the same criteria as the idling law is also BS!
Seriously whatever happened to live and let live? Pretty much all human activity has some sort of impact on other humans. So either we buck up and accept it, or turn into the society we are becoming.
Drive thrus have no impact whatsoever on anyone other than those using the drive thru. And honestly, even with "emissions", if this was 1965 and it was full of old school V8 engines burning leaded gas you MIGHT have a point.
IF i was to get nitpicky id say that belching diesel buses driving around with 2 passengers in it is far more harmful than a few cars in a drive thru. But that would sound like im advocating a ban on buses which im not ;) |
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| ChemEnhanced |
| I can't wait for rush hour. |
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| Jayx1 |
is it not obvious to people by now that the city only cares about raking in fine money and cares not about the causes they claim to support?
as they say, the only way the state can control its citizens is if they are criminals, so the state will make sure to create more criminals! |
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| ChemEnhanced |
You are right...these are nothing less than cash grabs....but the city only has two options to create more money
1) Create interesting new bands or
2) Raise taxes
I would rather they create interesting bands then raise taxes |
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| chinamon |
| quote: | Originally posted by Special K
if they are going to ban anything ... what they should really do is ban all drive thru's.
christ people are so ing lazy / fat. how hard is it to walk a few steps outside your car into god knows wherever to obtain whatever the hell it is that u want.
END RANT!!!!!!!! |
you, bro.
seriously.. you.
:D |
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| Jayx1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by ChemEnhanced
You are right...these are nothing less than cash grabs....but the city only has two options to create more money
1) Create interesting new bands or
2) Raise taxes
I would rather they create interesting bands then raise taxes |
I agree... id love to see new bands... but the city wouldnt allow them to play with all the bans in place LOL!
But seriously though, youd rather see new bans rather than tax??? Do you also think fidel is a good president??
You forgot one thing in the equation. Cut wasteful spending and then you dont have to do either! |
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