Do you want to purchase an idling sign for your business or school?
Please contact Environment staff by phone at 905-335-7600 x7580 or x7931 or email to request your idling sign(s) at $28 per sign including taxes (a limited number of signs are currently available). The outdoor metal sign is approximately 12 x 18" in size and is illustrated here. Bookmarks and posters are also available free of charge, while supplies last. Please note that we request you pick up the signs from City Hall. If not, shipping charges will apply.
The City’s activities – 2010
If your school is located within the City of Burlington and is developing a school campaign, you may contact Fleur by phone at 905-335-7600 x7580 or by email at environment@burlington.ca to borrow a banner and also request other idling materials free of charge, while supplies last. (Top)
The City’s activities – 2009
New Idling Control Bylaw
City staff were directed by Burlington City Council to review Burlington's Idling Control Bylaw and make recommendations to increase levels of enforcement under section 5.2.C of the Council adopted strategic plan Future Focus Seven. On April 14th, 2009 City staff presented a report to Burlington City Council who adopted the recommendations outlined in the staff report including repealing the original Idling Control Bylaw 71-2004 and replacing it with Idling Control Bylaw 27-2009. The summer 2009 issue of City Talk (page 15) highlights the changes to the new bylaw.
What are the primary changes to the bylaw?
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The new time limit for unnecessary idling is now one minute (60 seconds).
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The removal of the temperature exemption.
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Idling is now defined as a parking offence and parking enforcement officers will issue $150 parking tickets for this offence where necessary. Between June 1 and June 29, 2009 5 tickets and 16 warnings were issued.
Resources for Burlington School Idling Campaigns
Environment staff continue to promote the issue as in previous years (see 2007-2008 section below). The resources that are currently available free of charge, while supplies last, for Burlington campaigns are:
The Idle Free Zone banners continue to be popular in 2009 with Paul A. Fisher, Frontenac, Sir E. Macmillan, Tom Thomson, Assumption, Lester Pearson, Pauline Johnson and Robert Bateman schools posting a banner and raising awareness about idling between January and June 2009. Banners were also posted at City Hall (Locust Street entrance since late March 2009) and the Roads and Parks Maintenance Building (Harvester and Cumberland since late March 2009) too as well as the read-o-graph signs posted between May 24 and June 15, 2009 (Tansley Woods & Brant Hills Community Centres, Appleby Ice Centre, Rotary Youth Centre and Central) and again between August 30 and November 1, 2009 to advise of the new bylaw (Aldershot Pool, Appleby Ice Centre, Brant Hills, Centennial Pool, Central Arena, Central Library, Rotary Youth Centre, Mainway Arena, Nelson Arena and Tansley Woods).
The Clean Air Partnership in Toronto have received funding for 75 Idle Free Zone banners and are making them available on a first come first served basis to GTA schools that report on their idling initiatives. They have also prepared an Idle Free Campaign in a Box, a how-to guide that helps schools deliver idle free campaigns.
The City’s activities – 2007 & 2008
Environment staff continued to promote this issue through the city's website, in Environmental Corner (which appears in the Update section of Friday's Burlington Post newspaper), in City Talk (the newsletter sent to all Burlington residents), and through displays set up at municipal facilities and at events. Letters were mailed to residents or businesses when complaints were received about idling to inform the public about the City's bylaw. The City's parking enforcement officers continued to hand out information tickets when they observed idling vehicles. In 2008, the first idling charge (a summons) was successfully issued by the Halton Region Police Department resulting in a fine of $132.75 ($100 charge + $12.75 court costs + $20.00 victim surcharge).
During the 2007/2008 school year, several schools borrowed one of the City’s idling banners including: Florence Mears, Lakeshore, Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Timothy, Canadian Martyrs, St. Raphael, and Sir E. MacMillan schools. Please see page 16 of the Summer 2008 City Talk newsletter (sent to every residence in Burlington) for an article titled Spare the air ... kids breathe here. Turn your engines off!
In the summer of 2008, City staff designed a new look with a new slogan (Idling Gets you Nowhere) for the idling campaign. In addition, the content in the bookmark was revised as was the friendly reminder letter. A notice was placed on page 13 of the Fall 2008 City Talk newsletter of the updated idling resources. In November/December 2008, resource packages were once again sent to all Burlington schools.
Between September and December 2008, an Idle Free Zone banner was displayed at the following schools: St. Christopher, Paul A. Fisher, Alexander's, Charles Beaudoin, Clarksdale, Lakeshore, Robert Bateman, St. Raphael, Orchard Park and Pineland.
The City's activities - 2006
City of Burlington staff encouraged schools to continue to raise the profile of unnecessary idling throughout the 2006-2007 school year. To help the process, staff once again mailed a kit to all Burlington elementary schools in early September designed to guide each school in the organization and launch of an idle free campaign. The content in the kit was developed using material from the Active and Safe Routes to Schools website.
Included in the City Of Burlington Idle Free Education Campaign Kit for elementary schools was:
City staff recommended that schools promote idling awareness during International Walk to School Week, October 2-6, 2006. International Walk to School Week is one of the many components of the Active and Safe Routes to Schools programs, and the 'no idling in school' program is another. (Top)
The City's activities - 2005
Between November 19th, 2004 and May 31st, 2005 parking enforcement officers distributed 59 information cards to drivers idling their vehicles. In addition, when complaints were received, environment staff mailed friendly letters to residents or businesses advising them of the idling bylaw. In order to do so, the person reporting the idling activity must also provide a mailing address where the letter will be sent.
The City of Burlington once again joined forces with other GTA municipalities for Idle Free Week (see above for more details about the 2003 campaign) from June 13-17, 2005. With the generous funding of Natural Resources Canada, three city parking enforcement officers devoted their day to idling enforcement by handing out information cards to drivers and asking them to turn off their vehicle engine.
A total of 731 information tickets were handed out at Burlington's GO stations, schools and commercial areas between June 13-17, 2005. Drivers were for the most part appreciative of the city's effort in light of the number of smog advisories already issued prior to the idling blitz. (Top)
The City's activities - 2004
On June 14, 2004, Burlington City Council passed Idling Control Bylaw 71-2004 limiting unnecessary idling to three minutes. Between May 2nd 2005 and May 31, 2009, a total fine of $180 ($150 fine plus a $5 court charge and a $25 victim surcharge) could have been issued for unnecessary idling by parking enforcement officers. They also had the option to issue a summons to court instead of a fine. In this situation, a judge would have determined the fine.
The intention of the Idling Control Bylaw was to educate the public about the issue and to act as a deterrent so other people won’t idle. A fine or summons would be issued when a driver refused to turn off their engine or when they were observed to be repeat offenders. Two additional communication pieces were produced after the bylaw was approved by Council - an information card, that some have referred to as a mock ticket, and a letter. (Top)
The City's activities - 2003 Idling Awareness Campaign
On June 4, 2003, former Mayor Rob MacIsaac, Ruth Lee (TD Friends of the Environment), members from the City's Anti-Idling Steering Committee, Air Quality Initiatives Team, Environmental Management Team, Sustainable Development Committee, Halton Partners for Clean Air, as well as four grade seven students and their teacher from St. John Elementary School, helped launch the City's idling awareness campaign. After the launch, the City's first "Idle Free Zone" sign was placed at the Locust Street entrance of City Hall.
Posters and bookmarks communicating idling messages were given out well in advance of the launch to all Burlington public and separate schools as well as participating bookstores and municipal facilities, including libraries. Due to the generous funding received from TD Friends of the Environment, 32 "Idle Free Zone" signs were posted at key municipal sites that were identified as "hot spots" and 10 signs were posted at Burlington's three GO stations.
In September 2003, reminder notices were sent to Burlington schools advising them of the idling campaign. Packages were also sent to businesses where there is a lot of idling or where the message could be passed on including car dealerships, auto repair shops, taxi and limo services, and dry cleaning stores.
In November 2003, more signs were printed using funding from the original TD Friends of the Environment grant. Since both the Halton Catholic and Halton District school boards are members of Halton Partners for Clean Air, it was decided that each school within Burlington would be awarded one sign, in addition to adult education centres, three pools which are on school property, and board offices. Over 50 signs were distributed to all Burlington schools belonging to one of the boards. (Top)
2003 Repair Our Air - Fleet Challenge
The City of Burlington was one of nine municipalities participating in the 2003 Repair Our Air - Fleet Challenge that started on February 10 and finished at the Smog Summit on June 20, 2003. The goal of this GTA-wide competition was to have the lowest incidence of idling within the “municipalities” category. Ten City of Burlington vehicles were fitted with a device that tracked idling. Weekly reports were provided to each participant highlighting the incidence of idling in each vehicle. When baseline data was gathered, Burlington ranked fourth at 11.8% idling time. During the last week of competition, Burlington moved up to second at 4.8% idling time. The Town of Newmarket placed first in the municipality category with an initial idling rate of 4.9% and a final idling rate of 2.5%. (Top)
2003 GTA-wide idling awareness campaign
The City of Burlington is a member of the GTA Clean Air Council. The Council also launched a GTA-wide idling awareness campaign in June. As part of this campaign, approximately 70 local community-based outreach activities were planned for the GTA, including five in the Halton Region. On June 6th, members of the Aldershot Community Council joined Greenest City to help educate those waiting to pick someone up at the Burlington GO station parking lot. The other location chosen to participate in this program within Burlington was Rolling Meadows Public School. (Top) |