By James Peters

Electric Transportation

Kamloops sustainability boss confident EV/e-bike strategy will have a big impact even without new funds

Aug 27, 2020 | 11:43 AM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops council has endorsed in principle a strategy meant to promote the use of electric vehicles (EVs) and electric bikes (e-bikes) — but stopped short of committing any money.

At Tuesday’s (Aug. 25) regular meeting, council told staff it liked the plan, but only “action items with no costs attached” should be implemented next year.

The decision came after council voted unanimously to endorse budget cuts and belt-tightening to keep property tax increases for 2021 as close to zero as possible.

Sustainability Services Supervisor Glen Cheetham notes this puts the clamp on building any new EV and e-bike infrastructure, but allows the City of Kamloops to make significant policy changes.

“Where we’re going to focus our energy until we see our economic situation is a bit surer is on some of the policies that the strategy notes — policies around looking to implement EV-ready new construction,” Cheetham told CFJC Today.

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“The idea there is that all new residential parking that is constructed in the city be EV-ready and feature an energized outlet that is capable of supplying power for a Level 2 EV charger. The real benefit there is that we’re sort of future-proofing our new buildings.”

Cheetham adds the City can also advance education strategies that tell private sector developers how EV and e-bike use is growing.

Even though council neutered the strategy by deciding not to immediately support new initiatives that cost money, Cheetham believes it can still have a significant impact in making Kamloops more EV and e-bike friendly.

“The City’s role is really more in enabling and addressing some key barriers that are within the local government’s influence. Largely, this is going to be a market-driven transition.”

You can read the full strategy below or visit this site for more information.