By Staff
July 8th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
If this were a chicken and egg issue – we are talking about the eggs on this one.
With funding support through The Atmospheric Fund (TAF), the City of Burlington is adding eight more level two electric vehicle (EV) charging stations throughout the City. Each station will have two charging plugs.
With these new stations, the city will have 30 EV charging stations.
The new charging stations are expected to be operational by the end of 2022 and will be located at:
Appleby Ice Centre (2 stations), 1201 Appleby Line- Haber Community Centre/Norton Park, 3040 Tim Dobbie Dr.
- Mainway Ice Centre, 4015 Mainway
- Mountainside Community Centre, 2205 Mount Forest Dr.
- Nelson Recreation Centre, 4235 New St.
- Tansley Woods Community Centre (2 stations), 1996 Itabashi Dr.
The TAF funding is helping the City to expand our existing inventory of charging stations that are primarily located in the downtown core, many of which were also supported through funding programs, to other areas of the city.
This is all part of the climate change response:
Electric mobility was identified in the community-based Burlington Climate Action Plan approved by City Council in 2020 as a key program area.
Supporting electric mobility efforts will help Burlington meet the target to become a net carbon neutral community by 2050 and is a top priority of Burlington’s Plan from Vision to Focus, “Supporting Sustainable Infrastructure and a Resilient Environment.”
The City is also partnering with BurlingtonGreen to develop an Electric Mobility Strategy as a community road map to support future investments in this area.
The City is also working on an Integrated Mobility Plan with a focus on moving people via sustainable options such as active transportation (walking, cycling, etc.) and public transit.
Supporting electric mobility efforts, we agree is a major part of climate change response. BUT, why do the city, the Mayor and councillors particlarly Councillors Kearns and Bentivegna avoid answering the question of the community with mobility disabilities – “where in Burlington can we charge the “vehicles” we depend on to meet our daily challenges of life with such disabilities, grocery shopping etc?” Three car charging stations at city hall for electric cars – none for those who could well have to get a tow home, they cannot afford, if they run out of power! We have been having this conversation with Councillor Kearns and Bentivegna for most of their term of office! The Mayor for the last 6 months as Bob Cowan of CHCH will verify. No response is not acceptable in an election yeqr where all three are seeking re-election. Thank you, Gazette, for the excellent climate change article by Lawson Hunter it certainly made things crystal clear on the path we must tread!