Nov 05, 2009 - 04:30 AM

By Reka Szekely

AJAX -- Drivers take note, if engines are left idling for more than two minutes, bylaw officers are now ready to issue a fine as the Town's new anti-idling policy kicks in.

Town officials launched their Every Minute Counts campaign in October to inform residents about the new bylaw.

"The bylaw has a penalty of $38 for breach of it, but we're really not here to talk about the coercive part of the bylaw, we're here to talk about public education," said Mayor Steve Parish.

To that end, Ajax officials are asking residents to sign a pledge to eliminate five minutes of idling a day. Residents who sign the pledge will be entered into a draw to win a $300 prize from the Environmental Factor in Ajax, an organic lawn care company.

In addition to the two-minute rule, the Town is also banning all idling in five areas: the McLean and Ajax Community Centres, the waterfront, including Rotary Park, Town Hall and the Greenwood Conservation area.

"We'll certainly be policing it more and have more regular monitoring of it at those locations," said Mayor Parish.

He also pointed out idling affects air quality which affects some of the Town's most vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly and people who are ill.

Exceptions to the bylaw include extreme weather when it's below -10 C or above 30 C and when the engine must run to operate equipment such as wheelchair hoists.

"If you're in traffic, you don't have to turn off your engines," said Tracey Chala, the Town's environmental sustainability coordinator.

Ms. Chala said if every driver of a light-duty vehicle in Ajax avoided idling for five minutes per day, it would save about 1.7 million litres of fuel annually and would be equal to taking almost 3,000 cars off the road.

"If everyone can keep these numbers in mind and everyone does just a little bit, I believe we can make a difference," she said.

A good tip for residents to remember, said Ms. Chala, is that if they're going to idle for more than 10 seconds, it's better to shut the engine off altogether.

For more information on the Town's new anti-idling or to sign the pledge, visit townofajax.com.