The City of Burnaby has established new parking fees for its electric vehicle charging stations, in an effort to encourage turnover.
The city is installing the charging stations at six municipal facilities – McGill library, Edmonds Community Centre, city hall, Riverway Golf Course, the tennis court parking lot in Central Park and the Bill Copeland Sports Centre. It plans to have them in place by the end of the year.
City staff studied the use of other charging stations in the region and found many of them “experience congestion,” according to a report.
“This is anticipated to worsen over time as adoption of EVs increases. Some identified problems include EVs parked at a charging station for multiple hours, even when not charging or after the battery has been fully recharged,” the report says.
To prevent this from happening, Burnaby will charge $2 per hour between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. and $1 per hour between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Council approved a maximum fee of $5 per hour, but that will only be charged “if future demand conditions warrant it,” according to city staff.
Fines for infractions (including parking a non-electric vehicle at the charging station) will be the same as elsewhere in the city: $40 if paid within 15 days and $50 after that.
