Vehicles wait at a grade crossing for a train to clear.

24 March 2011

Turn Off While You Wait

Port Coquitlam British Columbia - It is common for drivers in Port Coquitlam to find themselves stuck in traffic while waiting for a train to cross at Westwood Street or Kingsway Avenue.
 
And in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from waiting cars, the city is asking drivers to turn off their vehicles when lined up at busy railway crossings.
 
Signs are expected to go up in places where tracks meet roads along Kingsway and Westwood declaring the areas idle-free zones. The city has an anti-idling bylaw and it is hoped the signs will remind motorists to shut off their cars while waiting for a train.
 
"It will save people fuel costs as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions," said Igor Zahynacz, the city's director of engineering.
 
PoCo recently adopted an environmental strategic plan, which calls for an 8% reduction from 2007 levels of the community's greenhouse gas emissions by 2017. Zahynacz said initiatives such as the idle-free zone will help the city achieve its targets.
 
The city of Coquitlam will also be adding signs on its side of Westwood Street to ensure motorists in both directions are turning off their vehicles at railway crossings.
 
But Charlotte Argue, a co-ordinator with Idle Free BC, said there are many misconceptions about idling that cities will have to battle in order for idle-free zones to work. She said many motorists believe turning their vehicle on and off consumes more fuel and is bad for the engine.
 
"Those are the myths that seem to go around," she said. "The rule of thumb is that if your wait is 10 seconds or less, it is not worth it to turn off your engine."
 
Engines that idle excessively, she added, can damage spark plugs, cylinders, and the exhaust system and can reduce oil's operating life by 75%.
 
Those who turn off their idling vehicles will also see significant fuel savings, Argue said. Gasoline engines consume 2.5 to 4 litres of gas per hour of idling while diesel engines consume 1 to 4 litres, depending on the engine. With gas prices on the rise, simply turning off an engine can go a long way toward reducing how often drivers have to visit the gas pump, she said.
 
Gary McKenna