Dear Editor;
I know that in Salt Lake, Ogden, and Provo, there is an inversion problem this winter. The No-Burn policy is a good start but we can do better. Here are some ideas that I have come up with.
One thing that we can do is to, during the winter, to make the UTA or other Public Transportation systems free or lower priced during business hours. It would lower pollution levels and encourage more people to use trains or buses.
Another thing is to build more streetcars like the one in Sugarhouse to make Public Transportation more accessible. People would get there faster than if they walked and breathe in less of the pollution. For those who have to walk or bike, we could produce gov. issued breathing masks so they don't risk breathing in too much pollution and harming their bodies.
The masks would be in pole-shaped dispensers for easy access, and when they are done using them, there would be a specially marked bin to dump them in so we can recycle them into new masks.
Carpooling isn't that "popular", so an incentive for it could be to, on the weekends or holidays, have reserved parking spots for cars containing 2 or more passengers. The people in the car would have free parking for event halls, malls, restaurants, etc.
I hope that you and others who read this will try to make these things happen. It would make the environment & us so much healthier.
Saydi Van Dyke
