City: EV charging stations need to be easier to find

Sault Ste. Marie currently has 14 public charging stations for electric vehicles, mostly located at gas stations, car dealerships and hotels.

But finding them can be a task for EV owners, city councillors will be told on Monday.

"This is a start, but more are needed to serve future EV needs of the community," says a major report on EV charging infrastructure to be presented by Emily Cormier, the city's sustainability co-ordinator.

"Similarly to lack of chargers, low visibility of charging stations is also an issue," the report states, adding: "It is important to consider adequate signage for future infrastructure to help EV owners."

Cormier will say that we need more EV chargers close to key community assets such as community centres and gathering places, the downtown and other connecting nodes.

"Though many organizations and spaces are open to the idea of incorporating public charging stations, it can be challenging to retrofit existing assets (e.g., parking lots) to accommodate public charging stations. Issues could include space, power supply issues and, of course, cost."

She'll recommend that new buildings be required to either include charging stations or be built to accommodate them.

"Increasing the availability of charging infrastructure in Sault Ste. Marie is a multi-sectoral endeavour, involving several city departments, the PUC and other community groups working in collaboration with each other," says the report.

"In order to be successful, efforts to advance charging infrastructure availability must become an integral part of the planning process for new developments in the city.

"This can be facilitated through methods such as ensuring that new developments are equipped with the necessary panel and conduit to accommodate charging infrastructure. As well, establishing a green development standard to be applied to new development and redevelopment is strongly encouraged.

"A united approach across all city departments and community stakeholders will be required to ensure that this plan is implemented.... A report to council with the costs associated with installing and maintain public charging infrastructure will accompany a request to council to apply for funding later this month."

As of Oct. 23, 2023, there were 187 electric vehicles registered in Sault Ste. Marie: 103 battery electric vehicles and 84 plug-in hybrids.

By 2035, all passenger cars, SUVs, crossovers and light trucks sold in Canada must be zero-emission.

Here, as listed by the city, are the locations of Sault Ste. Marie's 14 public charging stations as of late October:

• Sault Ste. Marie KOA, 501 Fifth Line East - 2 plugs: 1 wall, 1 NEMA 14-50 (NOTE: Although KOA is listed in information prepared for Monday's city council meeting, KOA advised us after this article was published that it does not have an EV charging station and has never had one. "We only have services for RV hookups," the campground tells SooToday. "We also stipulate on our website there is no EV charging permitted in the park."
• Maitland Ford Lincoln Sales, 1124 Great Northern Rd. - 1 plug J-1772
• Prouse Chevrolet Buick GMC Cadillac, 851 Great Northern Rd. - 1 wall, 1 J-1772
• Northside Volkswagen, 878 Great Northern Rd. - 2 plugs J-1772
• Northside Volkswagen, 851 Great Northern Rd. - 3 plugs: 2 J-1772, 1 CCS/SAE
• Sault Ste. Marie Supercharger, 360 Great Northern Rd. - 6 Tesla Supercharger Plugs
• Shell Sault Ste. Marie Shell, 386 Great Northern Rd. - 4 plugs: 2 CHAdeMO, 2 CCS/SAE
• Highland Ford, 68 Great Northern Rd. - 1 plug J-1772
• Superior Nissan, 460 Pim St. - 1 plug J-1772
• Great Lakes Honda, 423 Pim St. - 1 plug J-1772
• Holiday Inn Express, 320 Bay St. - 1 plug CCS/SAE
• Delta Hotel, 208 St. Mary’s River Dr. - 1 plug J-1772
• Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site, 1 Canal Dr. - 4 plugs: 2 Tesla, 2 J- 1772
• Petro-Canada Sault Ste. Marie, 713 Trunk Rd. - 4 plugs: 2 CCS/SAE, 2 CHAdeMO

Monday's city council meeting will be live-streamed on SooToday starting at 5 p.m.