[Several months ago] I rolled into the Alpine Market feeling very eco-friendly on my electric bike only to find a large Whistler municipal Ford 150 truck idling on it's own with no one in it (license CT2300). After a couple of minutes the driver arrives and I inform her that she should not leave a vehicle idling unattended as it contributes to pollution of our town.
As I enter the market she loudly calls me out: "Don't you know stop and starts use more gas than a leaving a vehicle idling."
Sorry young lady, of whom I pay your salary and the fuel you are using … I know that on modern fuel-injected vehicles one should turn off the engine if a stop of over 10 seconds is expected.
This is why modern cars do it on their own at stop lights for example.
One must wonder, if municipal employees don't have a clue about the correct manner of operating a vehicle, then we can hardly expect every tourist and some uninformed locals to assist in protecting our environment.
My answer—let's get signage up that idling over one minute (not our current three minutes) will result in a fine of $250. And have it enforceable on private property such as the Alpine Meadows Market and café (McKeevers).
Apologies if this was not timely (I submitted it back in March but it did not get published), however, I was inspired by Mike Williamson's excellent letter last week [“Turn your engine off,” July 15] to resubmit this one.
Lennox McNeely // Whistler
