Yorkregion.com = - Regional News - Province slow to embrace electric cars

Yorkre= gion.com=20 - Regional News - Province slow to embrace electric cars

Province slow to embrace electric cars

Sean=20 Pearce

Published on Jul 31, 2008

Jim Bradley, where are=20 you?

That=E2=80=99s the question radio DJ Barry Taylor has been = asking for the=20 past two weeks.

So far, he=E2=80=99s still wondering.

Now = Mr. Taylor=20 isn=E2=80=99t planning to launch a manhunt to locate Ontario=E2=80=99s = minister of=20 transportation, but he wouldn=E2=80=99t mind a few minutes of his time = to talk about=20 low-speed electric vehicles (LSVs) and why they=E2=80=99re forbidden on = our roadways.=20

It=E2=80=99s something 102.1 the Edge=E2=80=99s weeknight and = weekend afternoon=20 announcer has been keen to find out about ever since he learned LSVs = were a=20 no-go in Ontario.

While Mr. Bradley might not be taking Mr. = Taylor up on=20 his offer to talk on the radio, other politicians are.

Newmarket = and=20 Aurora MPP and PC transportation critic, Frank Klees said all of the = so-called=20 safety issues around LSVs are nothing but excuses and an example of = =E2=80=9Cdecision=20 gridlock=E2=80=9D.

The government owes it to Ontarians to provide = alternatives=20 amid soaring gas prices and to do so quickly, Mr. Klees = added.

=E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99ve been=20 calling on the ministry to approve of these vehicles for the last year = and a=20 half given the challenges with rising gasoline costs and I=E2=80=99m = disappointed that=20 once again all we have is yet another study,=E2=80=9D he said. = =E2=80=9CSurely we can rely on=20 the studies performed two other provinces and move on with the approval = process,=20 but they=E2=80=99re taking any steps they can to delay this and I just = don=E2=80=99t see any=20 point to it; we should just get on with it.=E2=80=9D =

Mr. Taylor=20 isn=E2=80=99t the only one wondering what the holdup is. =

Aurora=E2=80=99s Windfall=20 Ecology Centre executive director and founder Brent Kopperson said = electric vehicles of any sort are a necessary and important = environmental=20 step.

=E2=80=9CI actually think they are the wave of the future = and a good step=20 toward relying on 100 per cent renewable energy,=E2=80=9D he said. = =E2=80=9CThere are only a few=20 ways to get away from using fossil fuels and certainly renewable = electricity is=20 one alternative.=E2=80=9D

The study being undertaken by the = province is a move=20 forward, Mr. Kopperson said, but he=E2=80=99d like to see electric = vehicles on the=20 streets sooner rather than later.

=E2=80=9CI think it=E2=80=99s = encouraging that they=E2=80=99re=20 looking at it,=E2=80=9D he said. =E2=80=9CI would just ask that they = hurry up.=E2=80=9D

An=20 important thing to note is neither Mr. Taylor nor Mr. Kopperson are = trying to=20 say LSVs are Ontario=E2=80=99s answer for everything, but, for people = who need a way of=20 getting around in areas such as downtown Newmarket, they could be just = the=20 ticket.

No one is saying they should get anywhere near a highway = at this=20 stage.

Still, electric vehicles on Ontario=E2=80=99s highways = might be a reality=20 sooner than you think.

Many automobile manufacturers are nearing = a=20 breakthrough with electric vehicles. ZENN, which stands for Zero = Emission No=20 Noise, is promising an electric vehicle that has a top speed of 125 = kilometres=20 per hour, with a range of 400 kilometres, as early as fall 2009. =

=E2=80=9CI=20 wanted to purchase a vehicle just for the city and I thought (an = electric LSV)=20 would be perfect,=E2=80=9D Mr. Taylor said. =E2=80=9CI assumed by now = they would be street=20 legal.=E2=80=9D

Mr. Taylor heard about the vehicles on a segment = of CBC=E2=80=99s The=20 Rick Mercer Report and then again later on CBC=E2=80=99s The National = when Transport=20 Canada passed on giving the green light to the LSVs produced by two = Canadian=20 companies, Toronto=E2=80=99s ZENN Motors and Quebec=E2=80=99s Nemo, = which led to public outcry.=20

The federal government eventually bowed to the pressure and gave = them=20 the OK, although it left final approval up to individual=20 provinces.

Once Mr. Taylor discovered Ontario had decided = electric LSVs=20 had no place on the province=E2=80=99s roads, he decided to act and get = the word out.=20

Normally, Mr. Taylor=E2=80=99s radio show, which is probably = best known for=20 on-air segments such as the Barry Interesting Survey and the Barry Funny = Joke,=20 isn=E2=80=99t overtly political, but the situation surrounding LSVs = compelled him to do=20 something.

He started talking about LSVs without the = knowledge of=20 his bosses.

=E2=80=9CI decided at first it would be easier to = beg forgiveness=20 than ask permission,=E2=80=9D he said. =E2=80=9CMy company has been very = supportive about the=20 whole thing since then.=E2=80=9D

Mr. Taylor=E2=80=99s on-air = request was simple. He=20 wanted to have Mr. Bradley come on the air and explain why LSVs, which = have been=20 deemed safe in British Columbia, Quebec, parts of Europe and 46 American = states,=20 were not right for Ontarians.

To that end, Mr. Taylor enlisted = listeners=20 from across the GTA, including York Region, to lend a hand and e-mail = the=20 minister requesting an explanation on the radio.

Those e-mails = have now=20 led to phone calls from listeners to Mr. Bradley=E2=80=99s office in the = hopes they can=20 persuade the minister to call in.

Mr. Taylor did eventually = receive an=20 e-mail response from Mr. Bradley, but it wasn=E2=80=99t to his = satisfaction, because it=20 simply restated that LSVs were an unsafe option. Similarly, the = announcement=20 made earlier this week that the Ontario government would study LSVs is=20 encouraging, he added, but questioned how much more study was required = when=20 there is already reams of international data = available.

=E2=80=9CI really=20 appreciated him e-mailing me, but the content was far from = satisfactory,=E2=80=9D Mr.=20 Taylor said. =E2=80=9DWhat does he know that the Quebec=E2=80=99s = transportation minister=20 doesn=E2=80=99t?=E2=80=9D

The environmental and economic concerns = are important, but=20 nothing trumps safety according to the ministry of transportation. In a=20 statement accompanying the announcement for the study on LSVs Mr. = Bradley=20 expressed that he wants LSVs on Ontario=E2=80=99s roads, but wants to be = absolutely sure=20 of their safety before he gives them the thumbs up.

=E2=80=9CWe = want low-speed=20 electric vehicles on our roads and we are looking at how it can be done = safely,=E2=80=9D=20 Mr. Bradley said in a statement. =E2=80=9CAdditional safety features may = be necessary=20 and this study will help us determine our next steps. I look forward to = getting=20 these results and to getting these vehicles on the = road.=E2=80=9D

LSV=20 primer

Low-speed electric vehicles produce no emissions
Built by two Canadian companies: Toronto=E2=80=99s ZENN and = Quebec=E2=80=99s Nemo
Have a top speed of 40 to 45 kilometres per hour
Legal in parts of Europe, Asia, 46 American states, parts of = Quebec and=20 British Columbia
Typically only used for short-distance commutes where speed limits = are 50=20 kilometres per hour or less.