I've seen just as many police cruisers sitting vacant and idling as any other vehicle. Can I make a citizens arrest?

My pet peeve is; I don't see warming your vehicle up for an hour before driving a couple miles to work. Summer and winter.

I've seen just as many police cruisers sitting vacant and idling as any other vehicle. Can I make a citizens arrest?

My pet peeve is; I don't see warming your vehicle up for an hour before driving a couple miles to work. Summer and winter.

What a stupid law, writen by some no brain councelpeople. Have you ever walked out on a cold night and smelled the firewood smoke hanging in the air? Home heating wood fire smoke is way more important of issue than a car exhaust. Smoke from a wood fire I've heard is 10 times more dangerous than cigarette smoke. Big cities make laws to burn only seasoned firewood, NO construction pieces like chemicaly treated 2X4's and glued plywood and partical board. Now that's a needed law, not vehicle idle time laws.

What about poor soaking saps who want to warm up in their cars after jumping in the Bigwood for a New Year's Day, Polar Bear club celebration?

Maybe new cars do not need to warm up more than 1-2 minutes but some of us oldtimers here drive older cars and need a little more heat to go zoom-zoom.
I have nothing against clean air, but I believe common sense should dictate and not the Ketchum City Council.Don't they need to worry about the coming election in November?

I applaud Ketchum’s leadership here. Idling is harmful to human health, our air and one’s car and a complete waste of the very resources we need to be conserving.

For those who say that idling is necessary to safely operate their vehicle, I say, “Use a scraper. Is scraping your windshield that difficult?” Regardless the ordinance addresses this directly as an exemption so this is really a “nonissue”.

Cars only need to “warm up” when temps dip below zero and even then for not over 1-2 minutes. Even though we experience such negative temps on only a handful of mornings, this warm up period is completely consistent with the ordinance.

For those who say that cars need to warm up longer or that it’s more wasteful to restart your motor than idle it, you need to check your facts. I’d recommend going directly to the Car Talk guys’ website, who say “the fact is, cars these days don’t need to be warmed up”. Why would Click & Clack say this if it wasn’t true?

Again I applaud Ketchum’s leadership here. Most of the “reasons” to idle a car bogus and I’m glad that the Council is being proactive to safeguard human health and our environment.

This really is a very stupid and unrealistic time frame. Are officers going to carry an egg timer? Why not make it a more realistic time like no ideling for 15 minutes?

This is such a great idea! It reminds me of the time my friend Terri and I stopped in at the Casino to visit and have a few pops. Seems Terri's horse got into some bad oats and started poopin and fartin like a cowboy at a chili cook off. well, along comes Dude and finds us in the club. He tells us we gotta clean up the mess and get our horses outta there. Well, Terri's pretty much a right wing wacko and she starts tellin Dude to mind his own damn business and she'd be damned if her horse [Rascal] couldn't relieve himself any darn place he wanted. To which Dude took offense and locked both of us up over night for swearing at a lawman. So I guess you shouldn't leave your car running. Well, back to the Manor.

I agree with the above 2 comments. Will the newly enacted "Law" include patrol officers either watching for air quality "violators" & those on the lookout for speeders or in perfomance of other duties, city employee's, fire departments and paramedics, ... Three minutes is either a glass half-full or half-empty, depending on which side of the law your governed under or how close you are to the three minutes. Bottom line is, how deep are the pockets that write the check and where does the buck stop. I can't wait to hear about the hockey mom waiting for the slow neighbors kid to get ready for the game and get a ticket. I can hear it now, this is coming out of your allowance.

What's the fine for putting your brain on idle, as was done by those who conceived and then passed this ridiculous, brainless law?

Sure man, let those trophy shacks sit there on idle while papa is away in New York or L.A., five K a month for some of those shacks to idle.. That's a lotta BTUs spewing into the atmosphere, and that is the small trophy house, say only 2.3 million BTUs, on idle.. Time for a new mayor and town council people..

Why not just ban cars "in city" like they do in some cities in Italy? Really, how many people live in the valley(millions?), don't people have anything better to do then give tickets for a car running more then 3 minutes....Really, this is silly.

So you're going to fine me for letting my car come to a safe temp to ensure it is defrosted and legal to drive. Do not forget that cars that are not warmed up burn more fuel and could stall out as you pull into traffic and possibly kill me? Just Stupid! How about the part timers whose homes are empty but still burning gas, electric and don't forget the Huge radiant drive ways just in case they feel like showing up and hang out for the weekend. Get a clue! How about the idling private jets? Fine someone who can afford it. We do not all have heated garages and new hybrids.

I expect this will be enforced about as well as the stopping at stop signs 30 yards from the Ketchum police station is enforced.

They could post an officer outside the post office and ticket all day.
People can't let their dogs get chilly you understand.
Our John McDonald Memorial post office with no mail delivery accounts for tons of needless pollution making everyone drive their cars to pick up mail instead of delivering it to people's homes. Absurd.
Taxis idle their entire shift when parked on Main Street.
Going to ticket them too?

Thankfully, we have that new cracker jack squad of deputies and that vast command and control structure to police this heinous offense. This ordinance alone justifies that additional 56k in raises the Sheriff is asking for.

More laws, more government, more wasted tax dollars. What's not to like?

Way to go Willie...

If you don't think an idling car's exhaust is harmful .. then PLEASE buy all means..... Roll the windows down in your car, pull into your garage, close the garage doors and leave your engine running.... Sit and Enjoy :)

A round of applause to Ketchum! Your ordinance is much needed in many towns and cities, and I hope that other communities follow suit.
In regards to the cold weather concerns, it has been proven that the best way to warm your vehicle is to drive slowly, not to allow then engine to idle (www.idle-free.info).
Small actions like these, amplified through an entire community, will help towns like Ketchum. This ordinance centers around the "enjoyment of the city," not neglects it. Congratulations, Ketchum!

first thing that came to my mind was families. what a waste of time to sit and make a law about idling your vehicle. we live in an area that has extreme winter conditions. think of people with children, but i understand that is hard for people that own 4 dogs, and put their pets feelings before a handicap childs conditions. i know families that have children that cannot adjust to temperature change well, their bodies cannot regulate their body temperature. so your going to look at that child and say well sorry, you have to be taken out in 10 degree weather today because your other family can't stay in the running car with you while your mom runs into the store for 15 minutes. he will scream because of the cold, and how uncomfortable the change is. but yeah, i guess its ok right, because it doesn't effect you personally. it makes me sick.
i am totally blown away by this law. people here have giant homes with multiple fireplaces, pools, many rooms to warm..........come on seriously, and you think that turning off your car is going to save your community. what happens when all the tourist come and they don't know of this new law.going to ticket the communities income. yea, im glad all of you were only thinking of yourselves while making this law. it is sad and pathetic.

Great idea , let's hassle people and bother them so they go to Utah or Jackson that way all the restaurants will close and those buildings will no longer run those furnaces. The retailers will close, good another vacant building on Main St. Al Gore will come and congratulate the city for how green it is, and quiet.

Yahoo! Great work Ketchum. I hope Jackson, WY is soon to follow in your footsteps...

Does that include Police cars? buses, snow cats, semi trucks, warming your car in the driveway in the morning after -20 ? Hilarious!!!!!