3 02 March 2017
15 February 2017
File: (17/238)
Report no: CSC2017/1/81
A Second Electric Vehicle Car Park at Stevens Grove
Purpose of Report
1. The purpose of this report is to seek Council’s approval for the installation of a second P180 Electric Vehicle (EV) Park in Stevens Grove.
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Recommendation That the Committee recommends that Council approves the installation of a second Electric Vehicle Park in Stevens Grove, attached as Appendix 1 to the report. |
Background
2. In May 2016, the Traffic Sub-Committee approved the designation of a car park at Stevens Grove for EVs only. This car park also offered free charging, for the duration of the three hour time limit.
3. In August 2016, the fast charger at Z Petone became temporarily decommissioned, while major site works were undertaken at the premises. The fast charger owner – ChargeNet – requested that a replacement charger be installed at the Dowse site, using the existing power infrastructure. We approved, they installed it (at their cost) and the unit operated alongside the pre-existing slow charger.
4. As a result, the car park has been used regularly, and there is pressure to create a second EV car park next to it. For example, an EV owner would arrive needing a fast charge but the park is occupied by someone slow charging.
5. In May 2016, the Transport Minister Simon Bridges announced his new Electric Vehicles Programme. This included a target of 64,000 EVs on New Zealand’s roads by 2021.
6. Accordingly, the number of charging stations in the wider region has increased significantly in recent years. The map below shows the location of public charging stations that are installed by businesses or government in the lower North Island and upper South Island (Source: Plugshare.com)
7. The market for EVs in New Zealand has grown significantly in recent years, and will undoubtedly continue to grow in the future. To facilitate this growth there will be an increasing need for charging infrastructure throughout the country. Creating this second EV car park at Stevens Grove, will mean Hutt City Council is playing a role in supporting this development.
Discussion
8. The following table shows the number of the times the ChargeNet charger has been used since its installation. Usage data for the slow charger is not available, so it needs to be assumed that actual usage of the car park is more than what is indicated by the table below.
9. The number of EVs on New Zealand roads is continuing to increase at a solid pace. The figure below shows the monthly EV and hybrid vehicle registrations over the past few years. There are now around 2,630 registered EVs and hybrids in New Zealand. 282 in the Wellington region and 69 in the Hutt Valley (Source: Ministry of Transport).
10. By approving this second “EV Only” car park, Council will be augmenting is current position that it supports the market for EVs.
11. There is an adequate number of car parks (for conventional cars) in the surrounding area. There are 210 comparable car parks in the immediate area (Source: HCC Road & Traffic). Therefore, it is anticipated that the effect on conventional car users will be reasonably minor.
12. Further, there are plans to develop 22 new Council car parks at Myrtle Street (on the eastern side of the Dowse). These parks will be available to the public after hours.
Options
13. Approve the installation of a second P180 Electric Vehicle Park in Stevens Grove
14. Status quo – Keep the car park with its current designation.
Consultation
15. No formal consultation has been undertaken. The community have contacted Council via Facebook (over ten) asking for the provision of this additional car park.
Legal Considerations
16. This car park is located on legal road, so there are no legal considerations in relation to its use as an EV car park.
Financial Considerations
17. As this second car park would be an extension of an already existing EV park, costs are minimal. Total cost is estimated at around $100.
18. There would however, be a loss of $800 parking revenue per year, in converting this park from Park and Display to EV Only. At some point in the future though, we could require that EVs using this space still pay the usual Pay and Display fee while charging.
Other Considerations
19. In making this recommendation, officers have given careful consideration to the purpose of local government in section 10 of the Local Government Act 2002. Officers believe that this recommendation falls within the purpose of the local government in that it supports the future growth and development of the EV market in Lower Hutt and New Zealand. It does this in a way that is cost-effective because there are very minimal costs involved in doing this.
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Proposed second Electric Vehicle Park in Stevens Grove |
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Author: Martin Barry
Eco Design Advisor
Reviewed By: Helen Oram
Divisional Manager Environmental Consents
Approved By: Joycelyn Raffills
General Manager, Governance and Regulatory