City officials are questioning the effectiveness of a recently proposed ordinance that would fine owners of stationary vehicles left running for more than five minutes.
The ordinance exempts emergency vehicles and public and commercial transportation vehicles, while service vehicles that are unloading and loading may run for 20 minutes.
According to city environmental manager Dave Benzschawel, these exemptions and their enforcement would complicate the ordinance's execution.
\The police department is so over-worked that this ordinance would come in at the lowest level,"" he said.
The effectiveness of the ordinance remains unclear. According to Benzschawel, in some cases, re-starting a car engine releases more emission than letting the car run for a short time. However, he said allowing a car to run for 20 minutes to an hour releases more emission than would restarting the vehicle.
Ald. Matt Sloan, District 13, said due to federal laws requiring cars to be environmentally friendly, ""an idling car produces a lot more emission than starting it up.""
Sloan compared Madison to California, where he said they outlawed drive-thrus.
""We're really way behind,"" he said.
According to Ryan Mulcahy, Mayor Bauman's assistant, the ordinance's purpose is to invite varying opinions on the issue.
""You should not jump to the conclusion that the mayor supports it [the ordinance] 100 percent,"" he said, adding that she may reject it or modify it.
Bauman asked the ordinance be drafted to open the community to discussion, Mulcahy said.
Mulcahy acknowledged enforcement would be an issue, however he said exploring the ordinance has value.
""Educating motorists on public health issues is worth having in and of itself'even absent enforcement,"" he said.
Sloan said he agreed.
""We always rely on education first,"" he said.
However Sloan stressed that an enforced ordinance provides a way to punish offenders.
The city's on-going concern for the environment and neighborhood associations' concern about air quality provoked the mayor's decision to introduce debate on the ordinance, Mulcahy said. He added that the prospect that Madison's greenhouse gas levels could rise and qualify the city for strict federal regulations on industrial factories and car inspections concerns some city officials.
According to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, he has not heard complaints of idling vehicles.
""On its face, the ordinance is probably not completely necessary, but I'm willing to keep an open mind and to allow its sponsors to make their case,"" he said.
