A Coquitlam city councillor wants drivers to turn off their vehicles when they aren't on the move.
With the increasing popularity of vehicle remotes, Coun. Teri Towner said she is hearing complaints from residents about drivers turning on their vehicles and leaving them running for long periods of time. Monday, she asked staff to look into the possibility of implementing an anti-idling bylaw and launching an educational campaign about the impacts of vehicle emissions.
“People are leaving their cars running while they do errands,” she said during a committee meeting.
On Burke Mountain, where many people live in non-smoking basement suites, she said more people are sitting in their cars when they need to have cigarette “and they are idling their car the whole time.”
Towner said she would like Coquitlam to consider implementing an anti-idling bylaw similar to what has been passed in Port Moody.
“This is something we can do,” she said.
Jozsef Dioszeghy, Coquitlam's director of engineering and public works, said vehicle emissions regulations are primarily the responsibility of the provincial government. But he noted that Metro Vancouver has increasingly stepped up its role when it comes to air quality and several municipalities, including Surrey, New Westminster, Vancouver and most of the North Shore communities, have implemented anti-idling bylaws.
“These bylaws… mirror the Metro Vancouver and provincial regulations,” he said. “If you look at the nuts and bolts of the issue, it is more of a legal issue and enforcement issue than anything else.”
