November 12, 2008

Lawmakers: No more idling
in Westchester

Gerald McKinstry
The Journal News

WHITE PLAINS - It will soon be illegal for drivers to keep their vehicles running for three minutes or more while parked.

County lawmakers this week approved a measure intended to reduce carbon dioxide and other dangerous emissions that contribute to Westchester's poor air quality and global warming.

"Climate change is the defining issue of the 21st century," said Thomas Abinanti, D-Greenburgh, a sponsor of the law. "We can do our part by not adding to the problem."

County Executive Andrew Spano will sign the bill into law as soon as he receives it, Susan Tolchin, Spano's chief adviser, said yesterday.

Violators will face fines of up to $250.

At Monday's public hearing, speakers supported the effort. Some even said any push to clean the air needed to be stronger with a clear education component.

"Emission controls are an extremely important part of reducing the carbon footprint," said Charles Davey, a member of the Tarrytown Environmental Advisory Council. "An idling law is much needed in Westchester."

The bill broadens an existing anti-idling ban that prohibits diesel vehicles like trucks and buses from running while parked.

It also shifts enforcement responsibility to county and local police - it had been under the auspices of the health department and largely unenforced, lawmakers said.

Legislators have mulled a prohibition for months, but grappled with the exemption for emergency workers.

They resolved that matter after testimony from responders - including the county's police and emergency services commissioners - who said such workers need to keep their vehicles running because they use equipment such as computers, global positioning systems and radios that rely on cars running, even when parked.

The idling exemption for emergency responders is similar to one that restricts cell phone use while driving. Police are also exempt from that law.

There are also exemptions for hybrid and electric cars as well as any business that needs to keep its engine running for key operations like an ice cream truck.

The American Lung Association, which this year gave Westchester's air quality mostly poor and failing grades, has expressed its support for the idling ban on the grounds that too many residents are exposed to dirty air.