Some Torontonians were surprised by a news story last week that city hall is preventing a taxpayer from installing an electric car charger on a parking pad in front of their home. It really shouldn’t be shocking. The truth is that Toronto’s climate action strategy (that 30% of vehicles registered in Toronto should be electric) is actually about making money and not environmentalism.
Take for example David Jankowski who’s house in Toronto does not have its own driveway. He wants a parking pad on his front lawn, and an electric car charger of his own. During a recent council meeting, his application was voted down. One councilors argued there’s no way to ensure that Jankowski will really use the parking pads for car charging, which is puzzling since parking pad applications are not contingent on EV charging. Another argument against the application was that cars driving over sidewalks puts pedestrians at risk. You know, like how every driveway ever built has to cross over the sidewalk? Same thing.
Councilor Gord Perks cites the city’s inability to “put a gas station on residents’ front lawns” as why individual charging stations aren’t a viable way to expand the city’s network of chargers. The city’s plan is to install chargers in city owned parking lots where Torontonians can park overnight…for a fee. The city is using the consumer shift to electric cars as a way to cash in.
Then there’s Mark Bishop who spent a year trying to convince the city to allow him to install a parking pad. He wants his own charging station before buying an electric car, but he currently shares a driveway with his neighbour.
Part of the problem is a tree on Bishops front yard would have to be uprooted for his parking pad to go in (ironically Bishop himself requested the city plant the tree a couple years ago) and council used this as an excuse to deny his application.
Bishop is up against city hall and its ‘anti-car’ councilors. For example, Councilor Gord Perks insists that allowing residents to install parking pads and chargers isn’t the way to achieve the city’s climate goals. He calls it laughable to think the targets are going to be reached one parking pad at a time.
“We literally have to get hundreds of thousands of vehicles to become electric vehicles. We aren’t going to do that with hundreds of thousands of pads on people’s front yards. We’re going to need an infrastructure that’s shared, the way you don’t have gas stations on people’s lawns, you have gas stations.”
Parkdale / High Park Councilor Gord Perks
City hall seems to be doing its best to prevent drivers from installing charging stations at home; uprooting trees and cars on sidewalks are excuses. Individual applications aren’t even considered on their merits, as Councilor such as Gord Perks openly admits he always votes against applications, and promises to continue to do so.
Delusional Torontonians are part of the problem. Commenting about shared infrastructure for vehicle charging, Bishop commented
“We would love for the city to put a charging station in on every corner. That would be a wonderful thing.”
Mark Bishop, potential Tesla fanboy
No, Mark! That would not be a wonderful thing. It would be horrible. Wires everywhere like an old telephone system, charging cables left dangling on the street. Wait until the neighbourhood hooligans smear glue on the chargers just to mess with the next sucker to use them. No, no, no this is not a solution. This is a scam that will cost the city millions to install, and be in a constant state if disrepair.
I don’t know much about the car market really, but I suspect the whole electric car fad is one ‘big old money grab’ as usual. I don’t doubt certain individuals intentions, but looking at some stats and just looking around I don’t see the benefits really. I have a young virile healthy couple that live very near me, I see them drive their ‘Big’ electric 4×4 to the local shop just 10 mins walk away! saving the environment? ….doubtful🤔.
That’s one of the things that really bothers me too!
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Remember the “3 R’s” of environmentalism? Recycle, reuse… and REDUCE. Nobody is willing to reduce. Consumers want the biggest electric 4×4 on the planet!
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Car companies will happily sell you a guilt free $100,000 vehicle so you can feel superior to your neighbours.
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And governments are willing to call a press conference every time they install a public EV charger, but are unwilling to make the investment jn public transit that negates the need for a car trip to the store.
Yes public transport is a key to this, and widely ignored in many places as you point out. It seems the usual governmental hypocrisy and money grabbing are abound. I think it is what many governments do best!
I am a driver, sometimes a racer, so I am all about cars and freedom of mobility.
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But I also see that most people don’t love driving the way that I do. To them it is simply transportation.
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Yet, as a motorist, I realize that the solution to my city’s traffic problems are public transit, and not more lanes on the highway.
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There’s a YouTube channel I love to hate called NOT JUST BIKES. It is quite anti-car and promotes walkable cities and public transit. After weeks of watching those videos, I realized that governments around the world do not have the political will to build transit systems. It’s very sad.
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And as a driver, I would GLADLY pay more taxes to provide a free transit system in Toronto. It would minimize traffic for sure.
good old city hall, man. i haven’t heard of similar situations in my area but i wouldn’t be surprised one bit if big brother said no.
Its such a scam, Susan. Regardless what I may think about electric cars, some people believe they’re the solution to the emvironmwntal crisis. OK.
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But the city of Torontonis trying to make it a cash grab. Not allowing parking pads for EV chargers. But people can CERTAINLY pay to park i
and charge in a city owned lot.
oh yeah. they getcha comin and goin!