I am writing in regards your recent article concerning the anti-idling bylaw the City of Vernon is considering implementing in 2014.
I am a mother of three young children who is questioning just how helpful the new idling bylaw will be.
It’s not that I am against properly caring for the environment or taking measures to encourage awareness of environmental matters, but regulating idling to a five-minute window seems an impossible feat.
Have you ever tried warming up a vehicle, bundling three cold children into it, thawing and scraping the ice from the windshield and then having your youngest child announce they have to go to the bathroom? I’m lucky if this whole process takes me less than the entire morning.
Though I may be exaggerating, we have to be realistic. We live in Canada and it is cold in the winter.
There are many seniors and people with physical disabilities who live here. Slapping them with a ticket of anywhere from $250 to $10,000, for trying to stay warm is not right.
There are just too many scenarios that I can think of that would cause many good-meaning citizens to break the bylaw.
There has to be a better way. May I suggesting reducing Vernon’s carbon footprint by having more than three people ride the city bus at one time. Just a thought.
Michelle Brunelle
Vernon
