My name is Pete Theisen, I have addressed this body several times.

A few months ago there were a number of days when the air quality in Sarasota approached crisis levels in the pollutant called Ozone. Ozone is beneficial to the World Ecology at high altitudes, but it is a health hazard – a respiratory irritant that makes me and many other people cough, or worse - when it is right under your nose. For several days last fall it was under your nose at unacceptable levels, and all the time nowadays it is at higher than customary levels.

Why? Well, we have a lot more traffic in Sarasota than we had thirty years ago when I first came here. When there is as much traffic as we have it moves very slowly and sometimes even stops. While the traffic is stopped the engines are still running, and producing exhaust elements that will react with the sun and produce the irritating Ozone.

It is only a matter of time before this air pollution problem is noticed by visitors, discussed abroad and becomes part of Sarasota's reputation. We need to renew our focus on finding less polluting and more efficient means of handling our traffic and thus reduce this pollution threat. We must be very vigilant in avoiding anything that will add traffic to our transportation system without addressing a remedy to the pollution problem as well.