Pasco: Tree idea taking off, official says

Tree idea taking off, official says

But a national group that compiles facts on kids killed in steamy cars says forget about shade trees - enact laws to forbid leaving children alone in vehicles.

By JAMES THORNER

But a national group that compiles facts on kids killed in steamy cars says forget about shade trees -- enact laws to forbid leaving children alone in vehicles.

Pasco County Commissioner Pete Altman said he was citing an extreme example to make a point when he proposed the mass planting of shade trees to prevent "babies dying in record numbers from cars heating up in parking lots."

"Back in the debate days in college, you could win any debate by bringing up dead babies," Altman said of his proposal this week to expand the county's proposed tree ordinance by forcing existing businesses to plant trees on 10 percent of their lots.

Although Altman said he was relying on intuition and news reports for his baby death figures, a national non-profit group called Kids 'N Cars keeps statistics that support his claim that the number of such cases is growing.

So far in 2001, 31 children have died nationally from being left alone to swelter in cars, Kid 'N Cars said. That compares with 32 deaths in 2000 and 27 in 1999.

Just last week a 2-year-old Daytona Beach girl died after day care workers accidentally left her in a hot van. Similar incidents, not all fatal, have happened the past few years in St. Petersburg, Spring Hill and Clearwater.

"Unfortunately it's looking like it's a record year, considering it's only in August," said Kid 'N Cars co-founder Michele Struttmann, who listed Texas and California as the two worst states for such deaths.

But even Struttmann didn't buy into Altman's shade tree solution. Her group focuses on strengthening laws and educating parents who foolishly leave their children unattended in cars baking in the summer sun.

"The bottom line is to make it illegal to leave children alone in a vehicle, not to have shade trees," Struttmann said.

Undeterred, Altman said that since floating his parking lot plan Wednesday, "everyone I talked to thinks it's a great idea."

His only regret is he didn't think of it sooner, what with the tree ordinance up for a final vote before the County Commission on Aug. 28.

It's not just babies who have to worry about the plethora of treeless, sun-bleached parking lots in Pasco shopping centers, Altman said.

"How about the 90-year-old woman or man who has a heart condition who comes out of the mall and gets into a vehicle that's 140 degrees?" Altman said, appealing to the one-quarter of county residents who are older than 65.

For younger folks, parking lot annoyances are more mundane but equally avoidable if trees were planted, Altman said.

"You soak your shirt and spend a lot more gasoline trying to cool that puppy down again," he said.