Low-speed Electric Cars (NZEVs)

Saanich won't allow slow electric cars on streets

By Bill Cleverley, Times Colonist - June 3, 2009

Saanich has pulled the plug on slow, lightweight electric cars.

Arguing that safety concerns outweigh the environmental benefits, Saanich councillors have voted against a bylaw that would have allowed slow-moving electric vehicles to use most municipal roads.

"There are number of issues of putting these vehicles that will be travelling at 40 km/h onto our major arterial roads that, I think, frankly, put citizens at risk," said Coun. Dean Murdock, former Sierra Club Victoria Group chair.

"It was not something that I was prepared to entertain, even for the potential of environmental benefit."

Only Mayor Frank Leonard, Coun. Paul Gerrard and Coun. Susan Brice voted in favour of the bylaw change.

Both councillors Leif Wergeland and Vic Derman drove their cars around Saanich at 40 km/h to get a feel for the issue.

"I didn't get a lot of thumbs-up," Wergeland said. "I did get a finger but not a lot of thumbs up."

Both cited crash-test results with the smaller cars in which they virtually disintegrated even at light impact as reasons for their opposition. Derman said the tiny cars were designed for use in gated communities, where federal vehicle safety standards do not apply.

"I thought, Why are we going to an electric model that has very few safety features in it, that goes very slow?" Wergeland said.

"They have very, very limited safety requirements. They have three requirements, whereas most cars have about 40," said Derman, an avid cyclist.

"Every agency that has looked at it has said these vehicles are not safe to be on streets," Derman said.

The Saanich decision bucks a trend in the region. Oak Bay -- known for being somewhat slow-moving -- last summer became the first community in Canada to allow the innovative zero-emission vehicles on all its streets. Council's vote was unanimous.

Last year, the province amended the Motor Vehicle Act regulations to allow small zero-emission vehicles on roads with a maximum speed limit of 40 km/h.

Because few communities have a maximum speed of 40 km/h on all their streets, the province also said individual municipalities could approve the vehicles for streets up to 50 km/h, so that's what Oak Bay did.

It was followed by Esquimalt and Colwood, which each passed similar bylaws. Colwood took the additional step of buying an electric truck for use by its work crews.

The Capital Regional District circulated a model bylaw to local municipalities for consideration in the hope that motorists fighting traffic wouldn't also be fighting a patchwork of regulations.

But people zipping quietly along Oak Bay streets in their electric cars will now have to pull over when they hit the border with Saanich.

Leonard, who noted city engineering staff had recommended approval of the bylaw, said he was "flabbergasted" by the decision.

"We pride ourselves in being one of the greenest municipalities in the country, so I was taken aback," Leonard said.

He said small motorcycles and electric bicycles are all accommodated by other motorists. He said it's understandable that other drivers would be annoyed at a full-size car driving 40 km/h because they would expect it to travel at speed.

Oak Bay Mayor Christopher Causton said he's disappointed with Saanich's decision.

"We didn't pass the legislation because suddenly everyone was going to be driving electric vehicles. We passed it because we wanted to enable vehicles to be developed with that technology," Causton said .

In Colwood, meanwhile, where the municipality has replaced one of its fleet trucks with an electric model, staff have requested replacing another two trucks with electrics.

Several highway-capable electric vehicles are expected from the major automakers in the next two years. They would not require municipal approval.