Palo Alto may consider banning vehicles from idling longer than one minute. Many of the city's residents believe idling vehicles release pollutants that could harm the environment and people.
Resident Neilson Buchanan said:
“Not only do I see them, I can hear them and smell them. The noise and smell pollution from diesel trucks is unmistakable. It’s kind of annoying to hear all the rumble, rumble, rumble.”
Shelly Gordon, who serves on the executive committee of the Loma Prieta chapter of the Sierra Club, wrote in a letter that an ordinance could help the cities problem.
She stated that the new rule could lower carbon emissions, reduce oil and gas consumption, protect the environment and improve air quality and human health.