Simply put, practices are changes each of us can make, either on a personal level or an organizational level, to enhance the way in which we live our lives. These practices affect each of us as we exist as individuals, as neighbors, as communities, and as regions where we live, work, and recreate. While Clean Cities does not officially recognize all of these practices, each one contributes to petroleum & emissions reductions while enhancing our quality of life.

Idle Reduction:

Reducing the idling time of heavy-duty trucks reduces petroleum
consumption, fuel costs, engine wear and maintenance costs, diesel
emissions, and noise. Idling is often used as a means of providing power for amenities including air conditioning, heat for short haul truckers and refrigeration & electricity for long haul truckers. The idea behind an idle reduction zone is to limit or stop engine idling when it is not absolutley necessary, thereby reducing emissions and fuel consumption. The City of Cleveland introduced an Anti-Idling policy (53K PDF) in April of 2006. Currently it only affects vehicles owned by the City, but in the future, it could impact all heavy duty vehicles that traverse the city. Other cities in the region are taking notice of Cleveland's policy by introducing policies of their own. South Euclid is leading the way by introducing the region's first idling ordinance (323K PDF) that affects all vehicles exhibiting excessive idling within city limits. Since 2007, several other cities in our region have introduced policies similar to Cleveland's. Those cities include
Bay Village, Bedford Heights, Cleveland Heights, Eastlake, Parma, Rocky River, & Shaker Heights.
In mid 2008, the City of Cleveland began work to create a model citywide idle reduction ordinance based on a US EPA Model for statewide idling law (320K PDF) as well as laws from various other cold weather cities.  The goal is for the City of Cleveland's model law to be adopted by all 162 municipalities in our five county area (Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina) in order that northeast Ohio has a uniform law for remedying the problems caused by unneccesary engine idling. Those problems are threefold (1) direct impact on human health; especially susceptible are children and elders, (2) drain on local budget; 30 minutes of idling a heavy duty vehicle uses 0.4 gal per vehicle (3) failure to comply with the U.S. EPA's standard for air quality creates barriers to economic development in our region.  In summary, reducing idling improves quality of life, saves money, and improves the economy in Northeast Ohio - Win, Win, WIN!

Thus far, 25 communities have pledged support for  idle reduction policies; make it happen in your community now!

The American Transportation Research Institute has compiled a compendium of anti-idling policies from around the country. The compendium (92K pdf) can be downloaded here.

Carpooling:

Ohio leads the nation in the number of single occupancy vehicles. Luckily, NOACA (our region's Metropolitan Planning Organization), has created a website called Ohio RideShare, that can connect you to the easiest way to save money and energy, ride to work with someone else! If you enter your drive to work route into Ohio RideShare, the service will email you with potential carpoolers.

See also: Ohio Ride Share

Car Sharing:

Technology driven solution to car ownership in which cars are rented on a shorterm basis, when needed. When the car is not needed, someone else can be using it, while the other party employs walking, bicycling, or mass transit to move about the city. When car ownership is reduced, the number of cars decreases, thereby enabling a gradual shift to a multi-modal transportation system. In our region, a homegrown company called CityWheels offers car sharing in several Cleveland neighborhoods - check it out!

See also: CarSharing.net

Complete Streets:

designed and operated to enable safe, attractive and comfortable access and travel for all users. pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, & transit riders of all ages and abilities are able to safely and comfortably move along and across a complete street.

See also: CompleteStreets.org

Get Fit:

Use humanpower for trips less than two miles! a majority of car trips are less than two miles from home or work, so instead of driving, consider walking or biking. it's better for you, saves energy, and promotes social interaction, thereby building community!

Smart Growth:

Development that serves the economy, the community, and the environment. changes the terms of the development debate away from the traditional growth/no growth question to "how and where should new development be accommodated.

See also: US EPA: Smart Growth

Transit Oriented Development:

Compact, pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use development near bus and rail stations that serves housing, transportation, and neighborhood goals.

US EPA: Transit Oriented Development

Safe Routes to School:

Facilitating walking and biking to ensure that it is an safe and convenient as driving.

See also: US EPA: Safe Routes to School

Green Fleets: