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.

Embedded links connect to Federal DOE, EPA or affiliated sites, where applicable.

IDLE-REDUCTION ZONES: 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 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 policy 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.  Lakewood, Lyndhurst, & Mentor are considering policies in 2008.

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.

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!

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.

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.

TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT: compact, pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use development
near bus and rail stations that serves housing, transportation, and
neighborhood goals.

SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL: facilitating walking and biking to ensure that it is an safe and convenient as driving