A new bylaw in Outremont will ban people from leaving parked cars to idle for more than 10 seconds.
The initiative is aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving the environment.
“Outremont has a high density of cars and there is a lot of people that complain about idling cars,” Laurent Desbois, the Outremont borough mayor, told Global News.
Current municipal laws in Montreal limit cars from idling for more than three minutes but Desbois insists enforcing that bylaw is too difficult.
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The borough mayor insists the local measure is largely aimed at drivers who park their cars in front of schools and wait for several minutes at a time to pick up kids without cutting the engines.
“We have 15 schools here, elementary and secondary schools, so it’s a special situation here in Outremont,” he said.
Fines of $150 could be issued but Desbois insists exceptions will be made and the bylaw only applies when the temperature is between 0 C and 25 C.
“You just need to stop your engine, cut it while you’re waiting for somebody,” Desbois said.
It’s an initiative with which other borough mayors agree.
“We have to really reach out to the consciousness of folks and have them understand that this isn’t really acceptable,” Jim Beis, Mayor of Pierrefonds-Roxboro, told Global News.
In Dorval, drivers are requested to cut their engines while parked but it’s not enforced.
“We’re not enforcing this with tickets or anything. It’s more of an educational thing. It’s good for the environment,” Marc Doret, Dorval mayor, told Global News.
Desbois is hoping the Outremont initiative will encourage other local jurisdictions to follow his borough’s lead.