Greater Carlisle Project

Location: Air Quality

  • Commuter Services of PA

    Commuter Services of PA

    Commuter Services is a professionally staffed organization funded by federal Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality funds. Through our free services, we work to reduce traffic congestion by helping commuters find alternatives, other than driving alone, and by reaching out to employers so they can help their workforce find those options. Using alternatives also helps improve air quality, and fewer cars in rush hour can mean safer highways, too.

    Our mission is to promote commuting options that reduce congestion, conserve natural resources and improve safety and mobility at a regional level, by educating and implementing innovative Transportation Demand Management (TDM) programs.

  • Clean Air Board of Central Pennsylvania

    Clean Air Board of Central Pennsylvania

    cabSparked by a rise in respiratory problems in Carlisle, the Clean Air Board (CAB) was established in 2005 by a group of community members who were interested in monitoring the air quality in the Cumberland Valley and educating the community on the human health impacts of this air quality.

    The Clean Air Board has since worked on a series of projects to better the air quality in Carlisle. They began with school bus idling because of its intimate impact on Carlisle children, teachers, and bus drivers.

    air quality

    Next, the CAB worked to pass a state law which regulates truck idling. Prior to the passage of this law, thousands of trucks idled overnight every night in Middlesex County alone. The law states that trucks cannot idle for more than five minutes in any part of Pennsylvania. Although enforcement has proven to be an issue, this law does improve the air quality, and thus the livability, of the greater Carlisle area.

    The Clean Air Board works with the Sentinel to release the information collected by their air quality monitor in real time on The Sentinel website.

    The CAB runs an education project in conjunction with the EPA called the School Flag Program. Participating schools raise an air quality flag each day when they raise the American flag and the Pennsylvania flag. This serves to alert parents and community members of the air quality every day.