Vancouverites gathered Saturday to voice their opinions on the city’s newest green plan that involves building three new electric car charging stations in the downtown core.
The project is a partnership between the City of Vancouver and Telus in which the company will foot the entire bill in exchange for additional cell phone towers that will be attached to the stations. The proposal is to construct the new stations along Beach Avenue at Bute Street, Broughton Street and Bidwell Street.
John Stonier brought his electric Porsche Boxster to the public consultation to show his support for the plan.
“I can go 100 kilometres on this car and my fill-up cost for a complete 100-kilometre charge is a dollar fifty,” Stonier told CTV News.
He spent five years reconfiguring the roadster so it doesn’t need petrol.
“It’s a wonderful driving experience; it’s quiet, it’s powerful and it takes me to any legal speed limit I need to go to,” Stoner said.
Proponents of the project hope more charging stations will attract more electric cars.
“The challenge has always been with electric vehicles that we want to balance, in essence, that chicken and egg problem. Which comes first, the vehicles or the charging infrastructure?” asked the city’s Climate Programs Engineer Malcolm Shield.
The City of Vancouver wants to be the greenest city in the world in eight years, and this type of technology is being touted as a way to get there.
By the end of next year, the plan is to increase the number of stations from eleven to just under 70.
Once the project is complete, Telus will rent the parks land, which could generate income for the city.
Monday night residents are invited to another consultation at the Vancouver Park Board office on Beach Avenue.
With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Bhinder Sajan
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