Multnomah County's Office of Sustainability announces it's association with our Healthy Air Oregon campaign to encourage drivers to turn off their engines while waiting on drawbridges this Summer. Together we are raising awareness about the personal and public health risks of idling and cost savings available to individual drivers and businesses of all kinds by ending the practice of idling while not in the flow of traffic.
Read more about Multnomah County's "Idling Gets You Nowhere" campaign.
The Spirit of Portland is a private cruise company that has various cruises with different sized boats people can take to go site-seeing on the Willamette River. The Portland Spirit is their largest yacht and the route goes under the Hawthorne Bridge, which is a major car drawbridge connecting downtown Portland with the SE side. Because the Willamette River water level has not gone down like it normally does over the summer, Spirit of Portland has had to schedule bridge lifts for the Hawthorne Bridge to be able to pass underneath. It passes through the bridge 3 times a day, which stops traffic and causes people to idle their cars for at least a mile in each direction. Multnomah County's Office of Sustainability saw this as a perfect opportunity to remind drivers of the health and environmental risks of idling and the potential cost savings of turning off their engines while they wait. This Summer Beyond Toxics is partnering with the educational effort to raise the issue in the public's eye.
Find out how you can become an endorser of our Healthy Air Oregon campaign.
EVENTS SCHEDULED THIS SUMMER:
Hawthorne Bridge Outreach # 2
7/27/11 - 2:30 pm - 3:15 pm
Where: Hawthorne Bridge
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Hawthorne Bridge Outreach # 3
7/29/11 - 2:30 pm - 3:15 pm
Where: Hawthorne Bridge
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ALSO: Multnomah County adopts Vehicle Idling Reduction Policy (PDF file)
Includes this important stipulation:
"Effective immediately, Multnomah County employees shall reduce idling time to no more than twenty seconds in al County Fleet vehicles..."
