Abstract Manager

Acting on climate change is a current priority at all levels of government, particular for municipalities who are turning to electric mobility solutions to decarbonize their transportation sector. But as a rapidly evolving technology / trend, electric mobility is often not well understood, and most municipalities have turned to electric vehicles exclusively as a panacea to their transportation problems. In the race to achieve climate targets and stay “current” on the latest transportation trends, local governments are not asking the right questions. Which electric mobility solutions are most effective? Where should municipalities start? And what thorny and challenging issues need to be tackled first?

Our session will explore the following topics:

1. Municipal regulatory & policy tools | We will offer lessons learned on the different policy tools that are most effective at accelerating e-mobility adoption. This can include electric vehicle (EV) ready regulations to make it easier to provide access to charging opportunities in new buildings; requirements for oversized bicycle parking in zoning bylaws to better support electric bicycle (e-bike) adoption; and municipal incentive programs to offset the costs of EV charging infrastructure and e-bike ownership.
2. Public charging solutions | there are many components that go into designing a high-quality public charging network—whether it is to serve EV owners or those using e-scooters and e-bikes, charging infrastructure needs to be placed strategically to maximize benefit to the community and meet various planning goals. Drawing from our work developing a novel methodology, we will discuss how GIS mapping and spatial analysis offers a powerful way for planners to support data-driven deployment of public charging infrastructure that can maximize their utilization while broadening access to underserved populations.
3. Electric mobility design, accessibility & complete streets | electric mobility solutions have been emerging at such a rapid pace that important design and accessibility details have been ignored or implemented haphazardly. Implementing a new on-street (curbside) electric vehicle charging station can be a technically straightforward process, but doing so in an accessible and inclusive way requires careful accessibility considerations to ensure all users can access the charging station. Similarly, designing thoughtfully at the curb means easy access for e-scooter and e-bike users.

 Electric mobility planning is an emerging practice area that requires bold, creative, visionary thinking to tackle some our most complex challenges facing planning today including climate change and building a more resilient transportation system.