Windsor council considers on-street parking options for electric vehicles
City staff are exploring ways to allow people that only have access to on-street parking a way to charge their electric vehicles.
Experts who have worked on similar projects across Canada say infrastructure that allows people to charge their vehicle overnight is an urgent priority in the transition to electric vehicles.
There are 2,184 battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles registered to homeowners across Windsor-Essex, according to the province of Ontario, which is up by about 500 vehicles since the end of 2022.
That number is expected to grow as the country shifts toward electric vehicles under a federal mandate that calls for 20 per cent of passenger vehicles, SUVs and trucks sold in Canada by 2026 run on electricity and that every car sold starting in 2035 be electric.
The list of places where people can charge their cars is growing with dozens of locations across Windsor-Essex offering varying levels of charging speeds, including 11 stations in Windsor.
But there aren't any policies or options in place at a municipal level for people who have only have access to on-street parking.
Councillor Renaldo Agostino, who owns an electric vehicle, was told by city administration during a recent council committee meeting that staff are working on the issue.
"This is a very dynamic topic," said Mark Winterton, the city's interim city engineer.
"We don't have a policy on it yet but believe me we are scratching our heads on this one. As of yet it hasn't reared it's head as a problem."
Extension cords across city sidewalks?
There are three types of chargers people with electric vehicles use:
Level 1 is a plug-in charge similar to what you use for your phone and can take a day to charge a vehicle
Level 2 is a charging system that can take between six and seven hours to charge a vehicle
Level 3 is a fast charger that juice a vehicle up to 80 percent from empty in 30 to 45 minutes
One of the options brought up, but then dismissed, was allowing extension cords to run from people's home across their yard, over sidewalks and onto the curb.
"We don't intend to have extension cords across the sidewalks," said Winterton, while Agostino asked about cable management options for cords.
The extension cord option is something that they're doing in Vancouver through a cord cover license program that started in 2022.
This is an example of the City of Vancouver's cord covers used to charge electric vehicles at homes that don't have driveways or garages. (City of Vancouver)
For $5 a year a homeowner can run a cord to their vehicle only while charging and as long as it has a cover that allows for wheels to ramp over the cord so sidewalks remain accessible to all users.
The City of Vancouver did have a pilot-program to allow people to trench across boulevards to install chargers if the had on-street parking.
"We found that it was actually quite administratively burdensome and costly for the homeowner so there wasn't very much uptick for it and that pilot program was (ended)," said Leslie Ng, a sustainability specialist for the City of Vancouver.
Vancouver continues to install Level 2 and Level 3 charging stations as advocates outline more are needed.
Toronto finds success with on-street chargers
Toronto launched an on-street electric vehicle charging pilot in 2020.
"It was very successful and well received," said city manager of transportation and policy, Nazzareno Capano.
The City of Toronto is currently testing out 17 on-street charging stations for electric vehicles as part of a one-year pilot project. (Robert Krbavac/CBC)
The pilot project brought 17 charging devices to 9 streets across the city to see if those devices would be used and if they were cost effective.
At the time, each charger cost an average of $20,000 to install.
People were charged $2 an hour to charge between 8 a.m. and 7:59 p.m. and a $3 flat rate overnight
A city report found at the end of the 20-month pilot:
Usage increased month-to-month with a vehicle charging 35 per cent of the time downtown and 22 per cent of the time in residential areas
$7,843 collected downtown, $20,686 collected in residential areas
That was enough to cover the costs of electricity and transaction fees
The city has since transferred the stations to the Toronto Parking Authority and will operate 100 by the end of this year with 75 more planned for 2024.
Toronto looked at an extension cord licensing system but decided it wasn't right for the city because of the snowfall and sidewalk clearing policies.
Helping 'garage-orphans' an urgent matter
Ian Klesmer is the director of strategy and grants at The Atmospheric Fund (TAF) which financially supported Toronto's pilot project.
TAF is a climate agency that works in the greater Toronto and Hamilton area and has studied how people view the shift to electric vehicles.
He said that people are able to install chargers at relatively low costs if they live in a home with a garage or a driveway.
"It's a much bigger challenge for what we call garage-orphans: people who don't have a garage or driveway where they can charge in a single family home or people in multi-family homes where getting charging for everyone is a much bigger challenge," said Klesmer.
"That's going to be absolutely critical so people who can't charge at home can charge close to home."
Changing building codes to mandate charging
Klesmer said that cities need to start developing policies and regulations that apply to new developments so that apartment buildings and retail spaces are built with electric vehicle chargers as part of the initial plan.
In Vancouver, according to Ng, a business license cost can skyrocket if the building does not have electric vehicle charging stations.
"Gas stations and parking lots will be required to install EV charging stations come 2025 and the differential between their business license if they don't have charging, they'll be paying a $10,000 business license," said Ng,
Vancouver has also put policies in place in its building code and parking by-laws that mandate electric vehicle charging infrastructure in new multi-unit residential buildings.
"The cost of making a new multi-family building EV ready is way cheaper upfront than to retrofit a building afterward," said Klesmer.
Toronto has also adopted a similar policy to require new apartments have every parking spot fitted to allow for charging a vehicle.
Klesmer also highlihted how people are also able to charge vehicles as they move across cities doing errands or parked while working.
He said cities, provinces and the federal government should be putting chargers on properties that are already publicly owned in neighbourhoods like community centres and schools.
"We needed to start solving this problem yesterday," said Klesmer.
