SMALL business owners at Morisset hope an electric vehicle (EV) charger they say was plonked out the front without warning has no staying power.
Lake Macquarie council recently installed chargers on seven power poles across the city as part of a 12-month trial designed to fuel the super-charged take up of EVs.
But, Bridge Street business owners claim the new 'no parking' zone is costing them and their elderly clients, who are struggling to access the hairdresser, laundromat, pedorthotic foot clinic and a clothing alteration shop.
Janet Radnidge opened Lucinda's Hair Salon almost two decades ago, and said a large portion of her clientele were elderly and needed walkers to get to the salon for their weekly appointments.
"There was no consultation whatsoever and it's impacting us greatly," she said.
"Unfortunately we had an elderly lady fall over because she couldn't find a park, she parked in the railway car park and tripped across the road coming to our salon.
"Every client that comes in here says the same thing, it's like, 'what the hell have they done?'
"It's such a stupid place to put a charger, it's a ridiculous spot on such a busy, dangerous corner and if anything there should be disabled parking in front of my shop."
The program is 'a trial'
Lake Macquarie council confirmed it had already received four complaints about the Bridge Street EV charger, which was installed about a month ago.
A council spokesman said the locations for the current trial were picked due to their proximity to higher density housing developments, commercial precincts, the availability of suitable power and power poles and the distance from existing EV chargers and those involved in the trial.
"Prior to the trial, there were no public EV chargers on the west side of the lake, apart from at Toronto," he said.
"Business owners and residents adjacent to the pilot sites were notified about the installation in November 2023.
"The program is a trial, and feedback from customers will help us to review and refine the suitability of these locations, as well as other potential sites across the city."
He said that as a result of community feedback, the council was in the process of removing parking restrictions for the Bridge Street EV charger.
It will mean other cars can park in the space, with the EV charger remaining where it is for use when parking is available.
The fine for parking in an EV charging area without an EV, or plugging in the car, is $129.
The spokesman said the trial would run for 12 months, but said the council was open to reviewing or changing site locations based on feedback from the community.
'Just a stupid location'
Similar to Ms Radnidge, Custom Foot Morisset owner Stewart Levy deals with a lot of elderly clients, or people with medical issues that make walking difficult.
"I'm a destination store, people travel from all over the place, from Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie and Sydney because I'm a specialist shop dealing with foot problems," he said.
"It's just a stupid location, you've got a train station with 400 car parks across the road and they bang it outside a laundromat and where people need to be dropped off.
"People who travel far and wide to see me now can't park there because they'll get a fine."
Lyal Lee built the complex in 1985, and he said he had not been consulted about the installation of the EV charger either.
Mr Lee said in his view, there's plenty of perfectly appropriate power poles down the street the council could have used that don't impact on businesses.
"It just came out of the blue and was put there," he said.
"Another thing that worries us is fire, a lot of these cars with lithium batteries can catch on fire and I'm sure that will put the insurance premium up.
"I don't know what they're thinking putting it in a place like that, it's a no-brainer to me, this was a bit of a Kindergarten drop-out decision."
The 12-month Intellihub trial has seen 22 kilowatt chargers installed on power poles at Cardiff, Redhead, Dudley, Charlestown and Morisset.
According to the council, there are more than 800 electric vehicles registered across the area and that number continues to grow each month.
