Electric cars, we are always told, are good for the environment, as they clean the city’s air and reduce carbon emissions. Except when they prevent people from getting around on foot because the owners don’t want to use public chargers and are trying to save money by hanging charging cables across the sidewalk.
Is anyone else tired of having to go through this stuff? Entire neighborhoods became covered by cables. No, it’s not okay, as with one of the houses I passed this morning, to put up a bright yellow sign that says “Tripling Hazard.” The danger should not exist at all. If there is a next time I pass by the house, I have a good mind to organize a gossip and then call one of these no win no fee lawyers.
It was entirely predictable that we would end up with electric car owners laying cables across the pavement, yet, as with everything to do with net zero, the issue was ignored. The holy grail of net zero takes precedence over everything else.
According to charging app ZapMap, the average cost of charging an electric vehicle at home is 24p per kilowatt-hour, compared to 80p for using a public charger. Inevitably, the 8 million people who live in homes with no off-street parking will try to escape charging at home, trying to own the street in front of their homes in the process.
There are companies that will dig a little channel for you so you can plunge your charging cable in without tripping over pedestrians, but given that it costs £2,000 a time, it’s ridiculous that motorists don’t want to pay that either.
Electric cars aren’t exactly compatible with homes without off-street parking, but the government has completely ignored this in a desperate attempt to force it on us.
But it’s not just about cables. Street chargers are also gradually taking over sidewalk space. Walking is the most environmentally friendly way to get around cities, but it’s made miserable by all the things that are supposed to help the environment.
The sidewalks are being taken over by environmental enthusiasts on e-scooters. Bike paths that were once quiet, with only regular cyclists, are now a hellhole filled with people riding e-bikes, which typically travel at much faster speeds.
If councils want to create greener cities, the first thing they should do is remove litter from pavements: car charging cables, e-scooter docking stations, e-bikes and bus shelters, while they’re there. The rest of us get wet when we go for a walk in the rain, so why should bus riders get these sidewalk blocking facilities at public expense?
It seems that every public authority is now talking about its own “walking strategy”. They can start by removing obstructions from sidewalks, even if it means electric car owners will have to pay more to recharge them.
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