Parks taken by electric vehicle charging

Two parks in front of the Warehouse on Wilson St have been reserved for electric vehicle recharging only, but nobody has charged their vehicles since they were installed last month.

Two prime parks outside The Warehouse on Wilson St have now been reserved for electric vehicle recharging, marked out with blue paint to deter other vehicles from parking there.

Rather than put the recharging stations in the bottom carpark, which is not as popular with shoppers, the decision was made to locate them right at the front of the shop.

Greg Nelson, head of Environmental Initiatives at The Warehouse Group, said the parks were chosen for their proximity to electricity cables but also to encourage awareness and use of electric vehicles (EVs). “At every site we look at the most feasible place, proximity to electricity, and carpark layout,” he explained.

At the time of publishing, nobody had used the charging stations to charge their EV since they were installed on May 29, however Greg expected this to change. “We have just started promoting the Cambridge chargers and we expect they’ll be in use very soon.”

It is free to use the charging stations, for now, and Greg said there are 100 active users across the network of 20 charging stations at Warehouse stores around the country, with four more to be installed in the next few weeks. “Some are used several times a day, others every few days,” Greg said, adding that the most popular charging location is Rangiora, followed by Invercargill and Royal Oak in Auckland.

As the Warehouse has no authority to ticket vehicles, Greg said they are relying on shoppers to follow the rules. “The carparks run on goodwill, if someone is parked incorrectly we may ask them to move their car.”

More Recent News

Honey bees-ness tackled

Local body moves to protect residents from showers of bee poo are being given a tick of approval by Mountain View Honey’s beekeeper Lindy Bennett. Ōtorohanga District Council has included the guidance notes for beepers…

Call to stall all waste incineration

Don’t Burn Waipā spokesman Eoin Fitzpatrick wants a moratorium on waste to energy incineration pending a national analysis. Fitzpatrick made the appeal to the independent Board of Inquiry hearing Global Contracting Solutions application to build…

Ken’s celebration

A new artwork titled Ka pua, te Koowhai, designed in partnership with cancer patients, has been blessed in the radiation therapy unit of the Lomas Building at Waikato Hospital. The interactive kōwhai tree mural offers…

Maths help equals 1000

A charitable trust has hit a milestone, helping more than 1000 children from low-income families with maths. Eight years ago, Te Awamutu-based Mathematics for a Lifetime chairperson and founder Jean McKenzie recognised a need. McKenzie…