Checklist for Action Timeline
Have you ever left your car engine running while you waited to pick up your children, or while you waited in the drive-through line at your bank or a favorite fast-food restaurant? Have you sometimes let your engine idle for several minutes to warm up your car first thing in the morning? Most of us have. But when you leave your car or truck running while it’s parked or sitting still, the engine produces air pollution. This pollution contributes to problems like smog and global warming, as well as being harmful to health.
A great deal of idling takes place at schools, where buses and cars line up to drop off and pick up children, and the children end up breathing the exhaust. Stopping unnecessary vehicle idling is one relatively easy way to contribute to improved air quality and respiratory health in our communities.
This web site offers ideas and tools for conducting an anti-idling program at schools. Materials may also be adaptable for programs at other locations.
Idling Reduction Tool Kit Index - Create your own anti-idling program using our free, ready-to-use, down-loadable materials. Use "as-is," or adapt for your own anti-idling campaign.
1. Idling Reduction Program
1. Idle Free Zone Cookbook
2. Compact Plan – “List of Ingredients”
3. Medium Plan – “List of Ingredients”
4. Full-Size Plan - “List of Ingredients”
b. Recruiting & Identifying Schools
c. Guide To Recruiting Sponsors & Partners
d. Measuring Idling in School Zones
e. Bus Driver Outreach
f. Delivery Driver Outreach
g. Four Elements of Effective Media Relations
h. Tactic Ideas2. Templates
A. Participating School Information
a. English Templates
1. Letter to Parent Template
2. Letter to Principal Template
3. Letter to Teacher Template
4. Parent Pledge Form
5. Responding Parent Letter
b. Bilingual Templates
1. Letter to Parent Template – English-Spanish
2. Parent Pledge Form Letter – English-Spanish
B. Control School Information
a. Control Principal Letter Template
C. Evaluation Materials for Pilot & Control Schools
a. Front Desk Instruction Letter Template
b. Directions for Monitors Template
c. Idling Measurement Form Template
D. Fact Sheets
a. Idling Reduction Fact Sheet - Long Version
b. Idling Reduction Fact Sheet - Short Version
E. School Bus Driver Outreach
a. Transportation Supervisor Letter Template
b. Letter to Bus Driver Template
c. Bus Driver Pledge Form
d. Responding Bus Driver Letter
e. Sample Bus Policy Language
F. Delivery Driver Outreach
a. Front Desk Letter Instruction - Template
b. Letter to Delivery Drivers - Template
c. Delivery Driver Pledge Form
d. Responding Delivery Driver Letter
G. Thank you notes
a. Pilot Principal Thank-you Letter
b. Control Principal Thank-you Letter
c. Teacher Thank-you Letter
d. Transportation Supervisor Thank-you Letter
e. Incentive Provider Thank-you Letter
H. Media Release
a. Media Templates
I. Art Work
a. Key Chain – jpeg version
b. Key Chain – PDF Version
c. Sign – jpeg version
d. Sign – PDF version
e. Graphic Logo – jpeg version
f. Graphic Logo – PDF version
g. It All Adds Up To Cleaner Air – tagline jpeg version
h. It All Adds Up To Cleaner Air – tagline PDF version
3. Information Gathering
A. Literature Search
a. Research Bibliography
b. Statistics Gathered from Research
B. Focus Groups
a. Idling Survey Summary Results
b. Executive Summary Focus Groups
c. Parent Idle Survey Top Line Results
C. Auto Manufacturers and Associations Interviews
a. Emissions and Idling Questions Recap
D. School Buses
a. Idling Trends in School Buses
4. Program Reports
A. 2003 Idling Reduction Recap
B. 2004 Idling Reduction Recap
C. Idling Reduction – Lessons Learned
Please contact the following individuals with any questions:
Amy Warren
Puget Sound Clean Air Agency
(206) 689-4092
AmyW@pscleanair.orgSeth Preston
Washington State Department of Ecology
(360) 407-6848
spre461@ecy.wa.govMike Rosen, PRR
(206) 623-0232, x206
mrosen@prrbiz.com
