Bike lane the greenest way At-home charging needed

Dear Editor,

I am writing today in response to various readers in the Richmond News that have written about the Steveston Highway bike lane While I agree with some that we need to have better cycling infrastructure for safe riding without affecting traffic, these two goals may be conflicting In order to meet Canada’s climate goals and to have a more healthy activepopulation,wemustdecreasecaruseand increase active transport The Steveston Highway project achieves this in many ways

A new multi-use pathway would open up big connections for all of south Richmond People could cycle from Steveston over to Ironwood easily

However, cyclists are not the only ones to benefit It would be more accessible Multiuse pathways are wide, flat, and generally great for low-mobility people, seniors and anyone that just wants to go on a nice walk.

Steveston Highway currently dedicates up to 17 metres (being 13.5 metres and four lanes wide at its narrowest points) for motor ve- hicles for five lanes along most of the route However, according to the Ministry of Transport, “reducing urban vehicle lanes widths to between 2 75 to 3 0 metres has numerous safety and practical benefits”

Why don’t we narrow the lanes and use that space for a multi-use pathway and more greenery? Five lanes could fit in as little as 13 5 metres, allowing for space for a pathway without paving over more land These narrower lanes would mean slower traffic, more careful drivers, all whilst avoiding more pavement on the ground

The city has suggested increased protection on Williams instead of Steveston However, asking cyclists to detour two kilometres for a safe roadway is preposterous for a city that seeks to encourage cycling Williams Road has fewer destinations, less traffic and lower speeds as it is.

Let’s increase road safety, decrease speeds, all while providing for cyclists and pedestrians to enjoy a green future

Jeff Yu RICHMOND

Re: “EV rise could stall without charging stations,” Editor’s Column, March 30

The range of fully electric vehicles has been increasing rapidly so that almost all of them now have a range of 300 km or more

Most daily use is much less than that and recharging is only required at home after midnight when demand on the power grid is very low For example, a return trip to Abbotsford requires range of 209 km and Squamish 206 km (including an adjustment for climbing mountains)

On even longer trips, one only needs to stop every couple of hours to recharge just as most people would stop in a gas vehicle to stretch and use the washroom.

Fast high voltage highway recharging usually takes a half hour. The plug-in hybrid can also go further without stopping

The disadvantage of plug-in hybrids is that the batteries are much smaller and the battery-only range is usually only 60 to 70 km The trip to Abbotsford gives you the choice of using the hybrid’s gas engine or looking for a charging station

The fully electric vehicle won’t use gas and won’t need charging until it gets back home. In terms of maintenance, the hybrid requires the same maintenance as a gas vehicle My total maintenance cost driving a fully electric vehicle for eight years has been under $100 The battery is still at 100 per cent capacity

Althoughmorethan80percentofcharging takes place overnight at home, we still have a major problem with existing multi-family buildings where some stratas have refused to allow the installation of 240V charging equipment.

The B C government is still considering right-to-charge legislation, which would mandate such installations although, in the meantime, it’s providing substantial grants toward the cost It’s mostly those who cannot charge at home and plug-in hybrid owners who are hunting for charging stations