Electric vehicle drivers will have new plug-in options with five new charging stations coming to Newmarket.
Ward 5 Councillor Bob Kwapis announced the news on Facebook, saying there will be two stations downtown, at Riverwalk Commons by Doug Duncan Drive and Timothy Street, and at the Old Town Hall on Botsford Street.
The other two locations are both on Mulock Drive at the Magna Centre, in the east parking lot, and at the municipal offices.
"We've had conversations about trying to advance EV chargers in town for a number of years," Newmarket Mayor John Taylor said. "To finally see it happen, and seeing them open very soon, will be exciting."
Each station will have two charging ports.
Kwapis confirmed that the project is in progress now with installation beginning this week. He said they are expected to be complete by the end of the month.
The stations are part of the Ivy Charge Network, from Ontario Power Generation and Hydro One, which launched with their first location in Huntsville in September 2019.
Other stations are also coming soon to Aurora, Markham, Thornhill and Woodbridge, according to the Ivy Charging Network’s website.
Charging at their stations costs 30 cents per minute and they estimate that approximately 10 to 30 minutes of charging is good for up to 150 kilometres of driving.
These new chargers are in addition to 35 charging stations that are set to be installed at regional buildings across Newmarket by the end of 2021.
York Region received federal funding to put in the plugs in 2020 at several locations, including the York Region Administrative Centre on Newmarket, Corporate Service building on Harry Walker Parkway, Newmarket Transit Terminal on Eagle Street, Heritage East on Crowder Boulevard, and York Region Administrative Annex on Yonge Street.
Taylor said the town will be well-positioned in electric vehicle chargers, but expects there will still be more to come after this year. He said people are conscious of climate change across Canada and want to be part of solving it."There's no question electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles are going to increase every year in the community," he said. "If we have to look at it sooner, rather than later, it's a good thing."
