Ray weighs in on the Portland City Council's approval of a new plan limiting the time drivers can leave their vehicles idling.
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About Me
- Ray Richardson
- I live in Westbrook with my wonderful wife Dee Dee and our four children. We have been residents of Maine for a little over 22 years, moving here from Florida in 1985.
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2 comments:
Well, this might be a first. I agree, at least in part, with one of your posts. Wow.
Obviously this anti-idling law is not the most enforceable one out there. I do not believe (as I am sure you do not as well) that they will really be taking officers off of legitimate crime issues to specifically go out and find people idling longer than they are supposed to.
I think the strength of this law is more in the thought mode. Maybe, just maybe an individual will stop and think a second before he or she leaves their vehicle idling while running an errand or whatever it is they do when idling. If 2 or 3 people do not idle that otherwise might have, it will help with pollution a little bit. No, it isn't going to solve the problems, but sometimes you have to settle for tiny amounts to make any headway. That said, do I believe it is a necessary piece of legislation? No, I don't and I do not see it as legitimately enforceable.
When you mention all of the other issues we NEED to take care of from crime to infrastructure/road/bridge problems, I agree with you that we need people with vision to find solutions. I also agree with you that party affiliation does not matter in this. Both parties suffer from lack of vision. A sad but true fact today. Everything seems to be more about "sticking it to the other guy" and "I, me, mine" than anything.
As for the smoking outdoors after 10. Ya, I thought that was pretty weird too. If you are going to ban smoking, ban it. Second hand smoke is indeed dangerous (we do know this) and it remains so regardless of time of day.
I can foresee a lot of times when idling is not preventable, particularly in Portland. Has anyone waited in line for a parking spot at the ME MED parking lot? I recall one day of waiting about 45 minutes. Are people expected to shut off their vehicles just to turn them back on possibly 10 to 30 seconds later as the long line of vehicles inch forward? If that's the case, there are going to be numerous tickets issued to people waiting for parking while their only concern is the patients they are visiting or getting non-emergency medical attention for. Waiting in line for a parking spot at ME MED is only one more way idling is nearly impossible in Portland. Here is another example of city politics at its worse! Give me a break.
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