Taking aim at climate change
COEUR d'ALENE — A member of Climate Action CdA, a group tied to Kootenai Environmental Alliance, is scheduled to make a 10-minute presentation to the Coeur d'Alene City Council tonight.
Russell Hersrud, a Coeur d'Alene resident and adjunct professor at Gonzaga University who teaches biology, plans to request on behalf of the group that the city establish a "Clean and Active Transportation" task force. Think bikes. Pedestrians. Mass transit.
Coeur d'Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer said Hersrud asked several months ago to give a presentation on climate change and how he believes it can affect cities.
"This is nothing more than giving him 10 minutes to give his message," Widmyer said Monday via email. "We as a city have not had any conversations at all in regards to this."
Bill Irving, president of Climate Action CdA, said Monday the proposed task force could look at what the city is doing to provide and develop environmentally friendly and healthy transportation alternatives to cars and trucks.
"It's good to have an independent task force to look and see how the city is doing," Irving said.
People in the community, he said, already have made it clear they want the city to be even more bicycle-friendly.
Irving said Climate Action CdA's primary focus is on transportation, because vehicle traffic is the primary source of fossil-fuel emissions in North Idaho.
Irving said the proposed task force could consist of representatives from all areas of the community affected by transportation and the street system.
"We will propose the task force be independent and report to the mayor, with possible oversight by a council member," Irving said.
In addition to members of Climate Action CdA, others will be in attendance at the council meeting tonight to support establishing the task force, including KEA Executive Director Adrienne Cronebaugh, Heritage Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joseph Abate, Bike CDA founder John Kelly, and representatives from Panhandle Health.
The Coeur d'Alene City Council meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the Coeur d'Alene Public Library's community room.