MPLS City Council Passes 'Idling' Ordinance

The Minneapolis City Council and Mayor R.T. Rybak approved an ordinance Friday that puts a three-minute limit on the time drivers are allowed to let their cars idle. The goal is to cut back on emissions and improve air quality.

The ordinance does not apply to cars stuck in traffic or to police cars idling in speed traps.

Unfortunately, the council ignored our suggested add-on that would've gone further in addressing a larger menace: joyriding. Our proposal would have entailed putting up checkpoints throughout the city and requiring all drivers to carry printed-out MapQuest directions plotting out their trip. (Any driver found deviating more than three blocks from the most direct route woulde have been fined $100 for each block traversed beyond the three-block threshold.) Oh well. Maybe someday.