www.roanoke.com

Jeremy S. Holmes

Holmes is program director for RIDE Solutions in Roanoke.

It's almost time for those mysterious highway signs to start flashing their cryptic messages again, warning you to consider carpooling and to wait until after dark to refuel your car.

If you've wondered why you haven't seen one for the past couple of months, it's because winter in the Roanoke Valley does more than just make us curse the cold while praying for snow. The cold temperatures give our air a little breather, removing one of the main catalysts in the region's most significant air quality problem.

Now that the leaves are budding and we're cursing our allergies while praying for greener lawns, it's time to start paying attention to those highway signs.

May is the traditional start of ozone pollution season -- the time of year when heat from the summer sun reacts with various kinds of emissions to create ground-level ozone, a major component of smog and haziness that can ruin a good view from the Blue Ridge Parkway.

It can do more than just hide the region's natural beauty. Ozone pollution can exacerbate, and even cause, lung disease and breathing problems, particularly among sensitive groups such as children and the elderly. If you think that doesn't affect you, consider the following:

Asthma is the fourth leading cause of employee absenteeism in the United States, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation, with a loss of 15 million days of productivity, and it accounts for 14 million lost school days for children between the ages of 5 and 17.

Asthma is only one of the illnesses that can be affected by ozone pollution. If you're an employer or parent, chances are you're feeling the effects of poor air quality.

Besides heat, the other main factor in ozone pollution is the one you're emitting as you drive past those highway signs: vehicle exhaust.

Reducing vehicle emissions in the area through cleaner technology and alternative modes has been a major goal of the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission for the past several years through the Ozone Early Action Compact -- an agreement among Roanoke, Roanoke County, Vinton and Salem to reduce ozone pollution-causing emissions.

That compact came about from more than just goodwill: Between 1990 and 2002, the Roanoke region exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency ozone pollution standards 29 times. The Ozone Early Action Compact was a way for local governments to address these violations without coming under formal, and expensive, restrictions from the EPA.

So far, it's worked. Since the plan's inception in 2005, the Roanoke region has had no further violations. By the end of summer, the Ozone Early Action Compact is forecasted to have succeeded in its goals.

But we're not there yet.

At the start of this ozone season, the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission, through its RIDE Solutions program, will host the annual Clean Commute Day on May 18. This is a chance for Roanoke area commuters to make the pledge to try alternative transportation on that day.

The regional commission will also be hosting a series of events, presentations and demonstrations at its offices in downtown Roanoke on clean modes and technologies, including Segways, Valley Metro's Bike 'n' Ride buses, hybrid electric vehicles, and that most alternative of alternative transportation, the bicycle.

By bringing attention to the continuing energy and air quality issues facing the Roanoke Valley, Clean Commute Day provides an opportunity for individuals to take action and have an impact.

Ozone pollution will always be a problem in the valley as long as we have cars. There are other air quality issues related to our transportation system -- particulate matter pollution and greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels, for example.

If we want our valley to remain beautiful and breathable, we have to continue the work that's already been done. We need to be vigilant in our use of clean technologies, and take advantage of more alternative modes of transportation that keep cars off the street and exhaust out of the air -- investing in public transit, making the streets safe for bicyclists and creating walkable communities for pedestrians.

We need to emphasize development in which residents can work, live and play without needing to drive, like the investments made in the Grandin Village area and the burgeoning residential development downtown.

This summer isn't just the chance to cap off a successful environmental improvement program; it's an opportunity to lay the foundation that allows us to eliminate the need for future ones.