At its February 27 meeting, Huntsville council agreed to enter into a 12-year lease with Lakeland Solutions for six parking spaces at its High Street parking lot (behind Town Hall) for the creation of electric vehicle charging stations.
Councillors debated at length whether losing six additional parking spaces in an already congested parking lot made sense. Councillor Cory Clarke suggested that the parking lot at Muskoka Heritage Place might be a better place to put the stations but was told by staff that Lakeland Solutions, which is applying for a federal funding program to put the stations in, rejected that location noting the electrical infrastructure needed wasn’t there.
Huntsville CAO Denise Corry told council that if EV owners are parking at the High Street parking lot while their vehicle charges, they may walk to the downtown, have lunch, and go shopping while they wait. She said the same may not be necessarily true for a charging station that is further removed from the downtown.
Huntsville Mayor Nancy Alcock said she’s received several calls about the lack of infrastructure available for electric vehicle owners.
Councillor Bob Stone wanted to know if the Town was going to get any revenue for the stations. Staff said those talks are still in the works but it won’t cost the Town anything for the stations, which will be owned by Lakeland Solutions.
Councillor Dione Schumacher also reminded council that the municipality declared a climate emergency in 2021 and to do its part to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
In the end, council approved the initiative and asked staff to return with information about where the stations would be situated in the High Street/Princess Street municipal parking lot.
The stations are expected to be available in the fall of 2024, with possible expansion in the future.
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John Groves says
As an EV family this is a good move. It will be a economic driver ( no pun intended) for the downtown core. Also good for the environment.
Brian Tapley says
So, a few questions.
*Who actually pays for these stations?
*Having installed them, I assume they charge a fee for the energy they supply.
-Who gets this money?
-Does this entity make a profit? (maybe this profit is used to pay for the station over time)
*Who maintains these stations?
*More generally, how is the current “road tax” that is built into gas prices such that the government gets half or more of the gas price at the pump for this tax and other taxes. I ask this because if no road tax is charged to electric vehicles, then who is paying to fill in the potholes they create, just like any other vehicle? I’d hate to think that taxes on gasoline are giving EV drivers a free ride when it comes to this detail.
In some areas, if the electricity is generated by fossil fuels, there should be a carbon tax on the electricity, just the same as there is for gasoline to run a vehicle.
As you can probably tell, I am not “sold” on electric vehicles. Their overall lifecycle cost, when all factors are included remains questionable to me.
We can probably safely assume that the energy used here in Ontario is mostly fairly “green” having our large Nuclear base load plants but we also have to assume that there is enough of it and Hydro One can deliver it where and when needed and this may be a problem.
In many areas of the world this is not the case and the electricity is thermally generated from fossil fuels so that the full electric car in these situations is merely moving the pollution from the place where the car is used to the place where the electricity is made. Overall this does absolutely nothing to help slow climate change issues.
I’d like to see a little more science and thermodynamic analysis of the big picture before we leap on the EV bandwagon. Trudeau’s say so is not good enough for me.
Hybrid vehicles make more sense. By reclaiming almost all the energy used in braking they can be made very fuel efficient and they don’t need expensive charging stations and in a large country like Canada, they can actually go the full trip without those long coffee breaks while you are waiting for a charge to happen.
Susan Godfrey says
Very good to hear of this proactive and encouraging news! Keep it coming!
David Smith says
Yay, just what the town needs….less parking? SMH
John Malloy says
Wouldn’t River Mill parking lot be a better location for these, it’s a great idea but the congestion is already a problem on High Street.
John Deaconshire says
Reply to Dave Smith, these are parking spaces, that actually fuel vehicles, and by the sounds of it may generate some revenue for the town. Time to close off main street to pedestrian traffic anyway!
Lucille Frith says
As an owner of a PHEV, my concern is the length of time the charging vehicle is alloweď to occupy the public charging station.
Unless there is a limit (or penalty) on the length of the charge (often 80% charge in about 1/2 hour) vehicles will have the option of remaining parked, preventing other electric vehicles from charging.
Charging is necessaŕy to encourage travellers but most local electric vehicle owners will charge at their residence.
The more electric vehicles on our roads, the lower the fuel tax rebate we will receive in Muskoka for our local town bus transportation. Therefore there is a need to replace this revenue somewhere!
Charging stations need wayfinding signage, just like other fuel stations, highway,streetside and of course apps.
A marketing tool
Thank you Lakeland! Our locally owned utility!
Carol Ann Stevens says
Parking is so limited in Huntsville, that I rarely go to the Main Street. If we are going to participate in this, make the Lakeland pay enough to the town to find 6 more parking spots.
Joanne Tanaka says
In November I viewed a Webinar from Clean Air Partnership, ” Regional EV Charging Network Strategy” with presenters working in Wellington County and Dufferin County. The objective of their plan was to have a fast- charging network to support tourism in the area and reduce range anxiety. Considerations for site selection included access to three phase power, walkable access to amenities, site potential for adding more chargers in future, accessible design, safety( lighting etc) , equity, and yes parking impact and managing queuing for charging. There was also discussion of private landowners ( businesses) acting as hosts for charging. There was monitoring of turnover of use and noted one or two permanent residents using the chargers overnight.( there was a break -even costing for electricity to promote uptake of use of the public based chargers)A question was raised about public resources used for catering to rich people ( tourists) who can afford electric cars. Of course, the answer was needed revenue from tourism.
On the wider energy source topic, some places have solar panels supported over parking spots, generating more value from these spaces.
Brenda Begg says
Carol Ann Stevens, I agree with you that parking is limited. I don’t go downtown as often as I used to due to lack of parking. And, in the winter, snow banks along the edge of the few street parking spaces aren’t cleared in most spots which makes it a challenge for me to climb through them to get to the store. There are a few spots along the way that have been cleared a bit but I don’t like walking on the Main thoroughfare to locate one with cars going past me. It’s dangerous.
David Harrison says
Not only does the town need to consider immediate EV charging needs, but look to the way the technology is rapidly progressing. One only has to see the lineups at the Tesla charging station in the Metro parking lot to see the need from tourists in the summertime. If Tesla is an indicator, the need will grow exponentially, 50% per year.
Six parking charging stations is going to be but a drop in the bucket. Chargers should be installed in each big-box parking lots (Canadian Tire, LCBO, Independent, etc.) and charging for EV trucks at Walmart.
Mandy Davis says
Since when is the Town in to fuel stations? Why on earth should the town be entering this kind of business? If it is profitable some one will build the charging stations in their private lot like at the mall or specific resorts. This is a completely ridiculous idea and I’m shocked council would waste their time debating it let alone approving it. What’s next? Is the town going to open grocery stores and hair salons?
Rudi Stade says
Will a big generator be installed to supply the charging stations during our frequent blackouts?
Steve Ainger says
To encourage fast turnover at these charging spaces a time limit should be enforced. Perhaps 30 or 45 minutes would be appropriate. Similar to a parking ticket at an expired parking meter, but automated, the fine could be added onto the regular charging fee. This would discourage drivers from using the chargers as a parking spot.