Government guidance published on providing cross-pavement, on-street EV charging. This feels like creeping privatisation of the public realm and if the charging connects to a particular home creates unhelpful assumptions about who stores their car where. 🧵 www.gov.uk/government/p... - ThreadSky

carolinerussell.bsky.social • 58 days ago

Government guidance published on providing cross-pavement, on-street EV charging.

This feels like creeping privatisation of the public realm and if the charging connects to a particular home creates unhelpful assumptions about who stores their car where. 🧵

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cross-pavement-solutions-for-charging-electric-vehicles/cross-pavement-solutions-for-charging-electric-vehicles

Comments

carolinerussell.bsky.social•58 days ago

First off, yes EVs are a step forward from petrol and diesel fuelled cars but they still create health damaging pm2.5 particle pollution from tyre wear and contribute to both road danger and congestion.

Inner city EV charging, where off street charging is not a given, needs attention.

carolinerussell.bsky.social•58 days ago

EV charging on terraced streets with no off-street parking is a problem for householders wanting to charge a vehicle and for local authorities.

Street space is a valuable asset in a healthy, inclusive city and should not be handed over lightly to individual householders or to commercial companies.

carolinerussell.bsky.social•58 days ago

Allowing people to run a channel across the pavement to charge a car with their own electricity supply creates ownership expectations about use of the kerbside that feel extremely unhelpful.

carolinerussell.bsky.social•58 days ago

Likewise if commercial companies start installing chargers that look like petrol pumps we are giving over precious pavement and kerbside space that could take a tree or just be used by people walking or wheeling their local trips.

carolinerussell.bsky.social•58 days ago

Public policy should prioritise healthy streets where children, older and disabled people can get around safely and conveniently for everyday trips without feeling forced to use a car.

carolinerussell.bsky.social•58 days ago

Surely in urban areas if any kerbside charging happens that should be via the local authority through rapid chargers or lamp columns where there is no expectation of guaranteed parking and where people know they need to move their car once charged.

unixmaisonette.com•58 days ago

Absolutely this. That bit of street outside your house is not your property! It belongs to everyone.

krishunnisett.bsky.social•57 days ago

Why not just invest in hydrogen. Can use the existing infrastructure

geologiser.bsky.social•57 days ago

Because of physics and economics.

osbert.realise.earth•58 days ago

Public chargers will need to supply cheaper electricity to remove the incentive for private householder on street charging, the differential is ridiculous.

carolinerussell.bsky.social•57 days ago

Getting the price of public charging right is critical and that’s a useful focus for public funding, strategy and effort.

cycleoptic.bsky.social•57 days ago

What about private home charging, where residents are being charged much less to charge their vehicles ( overnight) than people who are heating ( and cooking) in their homes.

carolinerussell.bsky.social•57 days ago

There’s so much detail to trawl through. In a truly inclusive city people would have so many options for safe and convenient trips by walking, cycling and public transport they would not feel they needed a private car at all (however powered).

cycleoptic.bsky.social•57 days ago

The problem in Islington and neighbours is the large amount of motor traffic from outside of the borough(s) just “passing through”

indar13.bsky.social•58 days ago

True, but would encourage people to switch to electric from fossil fuels. Always a trade off.

anothergreen.bsky.social•58 days ago

Which is absolutely vital. Away with ICE.

carolinerussell.bsky.social•58 days ago

Fair enough in places without public transport and where there are no local shops or services. But in places where the majority of households have no access to a car or van there’s no need to incentivise any extra car use. Better that people use old ICE car occasionally and never replace it?

anothergreen.bsky.social•58 days ago

If I am frank you are scaring me. Climate change is here and Green Party politicians putting friction in the transition to net zero alarm me.

carolinerussell.bsky.social•58 days ago

We have statutory targets for 80% of journeys across london to be on foot by bike or by public transport by 2041 as part of our net zero goals. Making pavements harder for children older and disabled people to walk/wheel along doesn’t help achieve that.

anothergreen.bsky.social•58 days ago

Your still terrifying me. I am thinking of outside Central London and I don't even drive. Getting people out of ICE vehicles isn't easy. Fear you have gone to the dark side like Adrian Ramsey and his opposition to pylons.

stockfttp.bsky.social•57 days ago

X-P charging looked interesting a decade ago but I mostly see it as an expensive dead end now. Accelerating battery size, charging speed, CP ubiquity really makes them unnecessary

donnachadhmc.bsky.social•57 days ago

Surely pavement parking is already huge historic privatisation of public space?
And as long as it is used for private car storage (which I oppose), then surely it is better that they are EVs?

carolinerussell.bsky.social•57 days ago

Better that any remaining cars are EVs and even better if reliable, affordable charging is provided by public authorities rather than privatising the kerbside in cities so people without a driveway can use their home supply to charge up.

donnachadhmc.bsky.social•57 days ago

Local councils are cash starved. Why should us non-car owners taxes fund yet more infra for private cars owners, when private sector will fund it?

carolinerussell.bsky.social•57 days ago

I’m not saying private sector can’t fund it - they do. But I am saying the governance stays in public sector so when more people find they can actually live without a car we are not left with private EV chargers locked in to public realm. Think of the probs LAs have removing defunct phone boxes.

carolinerussell.bsky.social•57 days ago

And I’m very wary of households without a drive charging on street from their home supply. Better that any on street EV charging is an affordable service that people share rather than a supply for one household’s exclusive use outside their home.

greenjulianhood.bsky.social•56 days ago

Ridiculous, are you suggesting that a house owner with a solar and battery array should not charge their car on the street?

donnachadhmc.bsky.social•57 days ago

Most chargers around here are on lamp-posts. So if cars banned in future, no infra legacy issues.
Phone box issue, govt should have ensured been paid for by phone companies.

hoxtonrich.bsky.social•57 days ago

In-carriageway chargers are funded privately hence the high cost of charging using them (which IMO is a good thing). We shouldn’t be providing cheap convenient home-charging in cities which does come at direct public cost to adapt pavements, works against CC/parking charges & encourages car use

fidaisyg.bsky.social•57 days ago

Counterintuitive, but possibly a time to build - or at least maintain - car parks. Affordable charging becomes the sweetener to clear the streets of vehicle storage 1/3

fidaisyg.bsky.social•57 days ago

If recharge car parks are done well they could even encourage re-greening of front gardens, reducing surface water flood risks - and provide a power bank for other emergencies 2/3

fidaisyg.bsky.social•57 days ago

Spacing of car parks could be tied to same standards as for bus stops, which may encourage debate about current distance as well as rebalancing decisions for individual journeys 3/3

carolinerussell.bsky.social•57 days ago

I like the comparator to bus stop intervals. It should be reasonable to travel the same distance to charge a car as to catch a bus.

cyclisethecity.bsky.social•57 days ago

Exactly! That’s an excellent point. 400m, basically. And outside the houses plentiful secure cycle parking including E-bike charging and parking for non-standard and cargo bikes. A sustainable transport system that makes the right choices the most convenient - a reward for good decisions.

tessie-reynolds.bsky.social•57 days ago

If that's allowed then I'd like my own private bicycle parking rack outside my flat please.

cathread.bsky.social•57 days ago

Ask the council to provide a cycle hanger that sits on the road near the flats. It takes 6 standard bikes. Bath is providing them for residents. https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/cycle-parking

tessie-reynolds.bsky.social•56 days ago

Bath is obviously light years ahead of Norwich

fhvjhvgvb.bsky.social•56 days ago

Ahh yes. Norwich. https://www.norwichcyclingcampaign.org/arrested-for-being-a-pedestrian-in-a-pedestrianised-street/

cathread.bsky.social•56 days ago

That’s grim reading. Why is being a pedestrian and wanting some public space to walk safely seen as a big problem requiring arrest and court appearances!

fhvjhvgvb.bsky.social•56 days ago

Because of driver entitlement.

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