This winter, northern Utah counties experienced 28 days of unhealthy air pollution, the worst winter since Utah began measuring. On some of those days, our pollution was the highest in the nation. ("Bad-Air Streak Most in 7 Years," Tribune, March 2; "Winter's Bad Air Still Choking Utah," Tribune, March 7). We want Utah to be recognized as a national leader, but not for this.
The costs of air pollution are high. It damages the heart, lungs and brain and is associated with premature death. It has economic impacts: reduced federal transportation funding, EPA sanctions that discourage business expansion, increased health-care costs, employee absenteeism and declining quality of life that hurts recruitment. If that's not enough, living in a brown cloud is downright demoralizing.
So what do we do? The chief source of our air pollution is automobile exhaust. Advances in auto emission controls have improved air quality in recent decades. I hope and believe those technological advancements will continue. Nevertheless, the total miles we drive is increasing at twice the rate of population growth, a function of our living farther from our destinations. If that trend continues, technology will struggle to keep pace.
We simply must reduce the miles we drive.
Fortunately, there are reasonable strategies available to reduce travel demand, and we'll need a full portfolio to solve the problem. Incentives for telecommuting and carpooling, encouraging employers to give employees cash allowances in lieu of subsidized parking and convenient public transportation can remove some cars from the road.
Keeping traffic moving also yields air-quality benefits. Some employers voluntarily alter their shifts so employees commute during off-peak periods. In addition, creative market approaches deserve careful evaluation.
The Utah Taxpayers Association, for example, is promoting congestion pricing, which would charge drivers on certain routes a fee when traffic volume is high, allowing individuals to adjust their driving based on their own valuation of time and money.
Where and how we build our homes and workplaces can affect how much we drive. Residents in traditional walkable neighborhoods do not need a car for every trip to the store, park, office or school.
Communities should consider promoting more development in walkable town centers that put townhouses and condos near shops and offices, all within a short reach of public transportation. In such developments, residents are five times more likely to ride public transportation, and auto trips tend to be shorter.
Although this lifestyle is not for everyone, the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Homebuilders report increasing demand for this type of neighborhood. In addition, cities should create more direct driving and walking routes with an attractive street design to ensure a great pedestrian experience.
The recently completed Wasatch Choices 2040 report, adopted by elected officials in Weber, Davis, Salt Lake and Utah Counties, demonstrated that building even a small part of our region in this way would result in 12 percent more public transportation use and 18 percent less congestion compared to the full build-out of our existing transportation plan. (See the report at www.envisionutah.org.)
Of course, this would greatly reduce air pollution.
As the yellow haze sets in, let's hope our leaders will see clearly and make wise - and healthy - choices for us and following generations.
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* ALAN MATHESON JR. is the executive director of Envision Utah.
