Electric Vehicles

Capital Region Electric Vehicle & E-bike Infrastructure Planning Strategy

Blog Post By:

Senior Transportation Planner & Planning Lead
Senior Transportation Planner & South Coast Team Lead

Publish Date: April 5, 2019

Categories: Transportation

Tags:

Electric Vehicles

Capital Region Electric Vehicle & E-bike Infrastructure Planning Strategy

Client: Capital Regional District

WATT was hired by the Capital Regional District (CRD) to prepare the Electric Vehicle (EV) and Electric Bicycle (E-Bike) Infrastructure Planning Guide. The purpose of the project was to understand and assess opportunities to advance EV and E-Bike charging infrastructure in public and private locations throughout the region. The Infrastructure Planning Guide contains strategies for local governments and electoral areas, as well as private development, to expand EV and E-Bike charging infrastructure in the Capital Region.

The guide includes:

  • An overview of existing EVs and E-bikes, charging station technology, trends in EVs and E-bike ownership in the Capital Region and elsewhere, and key barriers to uptake;
  • Prioritized locations for future installation of public EV charging infrastructure and improved management of public EV charging stations;
  • Opportunities to increase EV and E-Bike charging infrastructure in new development; and
  • Recommended approaches for retrofitting existing buildings for EV charging.
Electric Car being charged in outdoor parking lot

Figure 1 – A 2018 Nissan Leaf parked in the EV only parking stall at the Oak Bay Municipal Hall. Municipal Halls are a common location for municipally-owned EV charging stations.

 



Edmonton Electric Vehicle Strategy & Implementation Plan

Client: City of Edmonton

The City of Edmonton’s Community Energy Transition calls for Edmonton to become an energy sustainable city exemplified in part by increased electrification of Edmonton’s transportation system. To that end, in the first half of 2017, the City of Edmonton, in collaboration with WATT Consulting Group, produced a strategy to advance electric vehicles in Edmonton. The strategy is a result of extensive best practice research, stakeholder engagement and market research in Edmonton. It represents a first step towards preparing Edmonton for electric vehicles – a rapidly changing and transformative technology. The strategy will position Edmonton among other forward-thinking cities advancing electric vehicles and will contribute to its reputation as an innovative city that welcomes new ideas, talent and investment.

The strategy is an action-oriented 5-year strategic framework that identifies opportunity areas that the City will take advantage of to contribute to a market-shift towards EVs. The goal of the plan is to identify strategic actions that will advance Edmonton in becoming an EV-ready city; drive an accelerated uptake of EVs; and create an environment in which EVs can thrive.

Our team produced three main deliverables for this project: 1) a strategy document outlining the state of EVs in Edmonton today with a suite of recommended actions—based on best practices—that could advance EV adoption in the City; 2) a detailed implementation plan outlining the timeline, partnerships, and costs of each action; and 3) an EV charging station pilot project that identified candidate locations in the City for Level 2 and Level 3 (Fast Chargers).

Edmonton Electric Vehicle promotion poster