Should vehicles parked at EV charging stations that are not plugged in be ticketed and/or towed? – Poll

Photo: Scott John

The latest installment of Bad Parkers of the Okanagan revives a popular social media trope.

Pickup drivers versus electric vehicle drivers.

In a post on the Vernon Rant and Rave (uncensored) Facebook page, Scott John shared a photo on Boxing Day of two full-size pickups parked at the bank of Tesla charging stations on 58th Avenue, across the street from Walmart.

John claims the drivers passed by numerous empty parking spots “just to block a charging station farther away from where (they were) shopping than the empty spots.”

“I don’t even own an EV, but can’t even fathom how this makes a person feel better about themselves,” he wrote.

The post drew the expected arguments for and against electric vehicles – and more than 150 comments.

The photo shows one Tesla parked at a charging spot close by and what appears to be a non-electric Toyota Corolla beside one of the trucks.

“So, just to be clear EV owners can use a diesel genny when they are in a pinch and need a charge, but a diesel owner can’t use a charging spot to recharge his awesomeness. Seems a little one sided to me,” quipped one commenter.

John says half the charging spots were taken up by pickups.

And the parking lot “wasn’t even particularly busy.”

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