Late last spring, the Healdsburg Unified School District approved adding signs to student pick-up areas reminding parents to turn off their car engines while waiting. “Students Breathing!” warned the sign. “Estudiantes Respirando!”
Now, with a new school year underway, Climate Action Healdsburg’s small but growing subcommittee on anti-idling is once again, and more forcefully, reminding students and their parents that idling cars pose a health risk—and, moreover, it’s illegal in Healdsburg.
“A vehicle engine which emits exhaust fumes into the air shall be turned off while the vehicle is stopped or standing or parked on a public street or public parking area, unless the vehicle is in the moving traffic lane waiting to move with the normal flow of traffic,” reads the city’s Municipal Code, pertaining to traffic and parking (Section 10.28.10).
It goes on, “Vehicle engines shall be turned off when loading and unloading passengers or merchandise, except when the engine is needed to operate equipment used to load or unload merchandise.” In other words, idling a vehicle not in traffic or actively loading or unloading passengers or merchandise is a violation of the city code.
Yet it seems an often overlooked if not ignored ordinance, especially in the more popular shopping lots in town—at Big John’s, Vineyard Plaza and the Mitchell Center. A recent posting in Nextdoor articulated the problem.
“Every time I go to Vineyard Plaza in Healdsburg I notice multiple parked vehicles with engines idling. I see people eating lunch, waiting for a pizza order, talking on the phone, listening to the radio while their car pollutes the air and makes noise,” wrote Steve Davy.
It’s also not uncommon to spot an idling vehicle with no one inside, not even a pet, leading to speculation that the driver just wants to keep the AC on so the car or truck will be cool when the shopping is done.
What’s the matter with that? As Stephanie Callimanis Turk, a member of the anti-idling subcommittee and a school district volunteer recently said, “Car exhaust releases particulate matter into the air, and inhaling it can aggravate asthma, decrease lung function and exacerbate cardiovascular problems.”
Quoting her husband, family physician C. Roger Turk, M.D., of Kaiser Permanente, she argued “minimizing exhaust fumes that our children may be exposed to at school is clearly beneficial for their health.”
It’s also a waste of fuel: Every two minutes of idling uses about a mile’s worth of gas. With the city under pressure to reduce greenhouse gasses, enforcing an anti-idling ordinance can help Healdsburg meet its Net Zero goals.
The signs have been installed at both campuses of Healdsburg Elementary (First Street and Fitch Mountain), the junior high and several other schools in the area, including St. John’s which has a particular problem at its Fitch Street pickup area.
“You know, when you walk by a person who’s sitting in their car idling, waiting to pick up a kid from school, and you come back 20 minutes later, and they’re still there with their car idling, it’s somewhat upsetting,” said Richard Cochrane, a Rotarian and member of Climate Action Healdsburg’s anti-idling group.
Cochrane, Stephanie Turk, Charlene Luks and, soon, more members plan to build momentum on the topic. It is hoped that simply raising awareness of the problem—especially among the younger generations, for which climate health is a predominant concern—can begin to change minds and behaviors.
But while the city ordinance forbids idling, there’s little expectation that people will go to jail for the offense any time soon.
“The police department has been engaged with community members regarding this issue, which is consistent with goals in our Climate Mobilization Strategy,” said Police Chief Matt Jenkins. However, he added, “We currently do not have the staffing to proactively enforce this ordinance, so enforcement is generally complaint-based.” He said complaints can be made 24/7 at (707) 431-3377.
Besides, he said, “Education tends to be more impactful than enforcement, so a violation would generally result in warnings rather than a ticket.”
Which leaves education as the best avenue for raising awareness about the issue. And in this arena, said Cochrane, Stephanie Turk has been a leader. “She’s probably a bit too humble to take credit for it, but we’ve reached out to Geyserville Elementary, West Side School, the Healdsburg School, St. John’s and also Slater Junior High in Santa Rosa.”
The Climate Action Club at Healdsburg High is also interested in playing a role, though it has not yet met for the new school year, said faculty sponsor and biology teacher Karen Wilkinson.
The EPA offers an Idle-Free Schools Toolkit, available at tinyurl.com/mdp2p9pm. To learn more about Climate Action Healdsburg, visit climateactionhealdsburg.org.
We live across the street from St. John’s School. We never see or hear cars idling while waiting to pick up the kids. What with all this concern about Climate Action in our town, I’m surprised the Ecos don’t go after the Mexican restaurants. Imagine the methane those places produce in our town through their customer’s outlets.