City to crack down on vehicle idling in neighborhoods

Big buses idling for hours on local streets are about to become a thing of the past. City officials are taking steps to crack down on vehicle idling in neighborhoods.
“During the study session, a concern was raised about buses idling in the residential neighborhoods. Staff was looking at our regulations realizing we don’t have anything that would help that condition or curtail idling,” said Development Manager Nathan Pate, at the May 22 city council meeting. “There are some RCWs that deal with it, but local regulation that allows a little more control is a good idea. Idling does lot of things. This particular regulation has rules about idling and also what is exempt from those rules.”
Driving people around, picking people up from buses..those are basically exempt, Pate said. This proposed ordinance is meant to prohibit those buses that sit on the street idling to heat or cool the bus.
“Those add lots of toxic materials into the atmosphere and the noise is problematic,” Pate said. “This prohibition says if you have a vehicle idling more than five minutes, you are subject to a fine. We’re probably moving away from a civil infraction. In the penalty, it would be a ticket issued by Pacific Patrol.”
Councilman Elmer Larsen said the school buses idling for long periods should subjected to the same requirements. Mayor Cheri Kelley Farivar said it is not just buses, but also pickup trucks and semis.
This is a vehicle in the street, not private property. If someone is working on their car on private property, they are exempt. Councilwoman Sharon Waters asked where the five minutes came from?
Pate said his first regulation was one minute.
“I took a look at the times across various states. It varies from zero to 15 minutes. One minute is probably too tight, but five minutes is close enough to be enforceable. State law actually for idling is you can’t idle a vehicle, public or private space, and not be in the vehicle,” Walinski said.
Waters said she went around and talked to bus drivers, who said they like to idle for about 15 minutes every three hours. The buses are idling so it is warm when the people come back. Waters wondered if five minutes was enough time.
“I believe that it is. Whether it is long enough to warm up the bus is not our concern, so much as whether or not the fumes spewed out during that period of time are excessive for our neighborhoods. I think that is the key point,” Farivar said.
The other thing you have to look at is enforcement, Walinski said.
“If you go the 15 minutes, it could be up to a half-hour. It it is at five minutes, the maximum amount of time might be 10 minutes,” Walinski said.
Larsen asked how this would affect Link Transit. Pate said transit services are exempt.
“Let’s say, Christmas Lighting and a bus is parked outside a home idling. Who does the timing? Can a homeowner start filming with their iPhone and that five minutes starts then? Or does that start when Pacific Security shows up on the scene?,” said Councilman Clint Strand.
It starts when Pacific Patrol arrives, Pate said, because the investigator has to witness it. Strand wondered if a $500 fine would be enough.
Since the city is moving away from the civil component, Pate said the fine is probably going to be between $25 and $50 or maybe lower. Farivar said the ticket is issued to the driver not the company.
“These are similar to the parking citations that Pacific Patrol issues for overtime parking, so they are processed through the city. This would not be a ticket issued by the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office,” Walinski said.
Waters said she was concerned the older buses would need to idle longer to warm up.
“Again, we’re trying to curtail the emissions. Maybe they need to get a better bus,” Pate said.
Local resident Sharon Rucker said she lives on the corner of Benton and Ski Hill Drive.
“Every Christmas Lighting, every weekend, there are the big buses sitting there idling for hours, so much so, that my closed house smells like diesel,” Rucker said. “It’s not old buses. It’s not something that needs a long time to heat up. They are sitting there bored and they don’t want to be cold. Thank you so much for doing this. I am so excited.”
Ian Dunn can be reached at 548-5286 or editor@leavenworthecho.com.