The City of Windsor has amended the bylaw that prohibits excessive idling of vehicles.
The new bylaw changes the permitted idling time from five minutes to three minutes. It also introduces new exemptions for drive-thrus and transit and commercial vehicles.
Councillor Chris Holt is concerned these changes actually do more harm then good for the environment .
"There are so many exceptions that it almost makes the anti-idling bylaw moot. It almost makes it useless," says Holt.
Council also decided to keep in place exemptions for extreme temperatures. If the ambient temperature inside the vehicles is more than 27C or less than 5C.
Holt says the only good thing about making changes to the bylaw is the awareness it brings to the dangers of idling a vehicle. Vehicle emissions, such as volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, and oxides of nitrogen, are criteria air contaminants that contribute to air pollution and smog.
"It's worse then smoking in so many respects but it's just not stigmatized as much. So hopefully by doing this we start to think twice about the air quality around us," says Holt.