Leiden City Council successfully prepared the expansion of the charging network in cooperation with EVTools. This was achieved through a comprehensive update of the plan map, specifically taking into account the introduction of the zero-emission zone in the city. An important starting point here was the strategic concentration of charging needs on charging islands, which is both efficient and future-oriented.
After a thorough review of the proposed charging locations by the municipality, the plan map was shared with residents for feedback. This participatory process provided valuable input.
A participatory process with residents resulted in a broadly supported plan map, in which both bottlenecks and areas for improvement were carefully identified. The result is a robust plan that is ready for a sustainable future.
Eric Jellema (Opgavemanager Duurzame Mobiliteit bij Gemeente Leiden):
"Not only our residents gave their feedback on the plan map, but also within the municipality itself many valuable reactions were received. We managed to involve everyone in our expansion plans, which led to a widely supported and well thought-out result."
What were the results?
The expansion of the Leiden charging plan consisted of 340 potential charging locations. Residents appeared to be quite involved in charging planning, according to the results
- 49% of charging locations received a response
- A total of 428 responses were submitted.
- 42% of planned sites received exclusively positive sentiment
- 42% a negative sentiment.
- 16% of sites produced mixed responses.
A participatory process thus provides not only valuable feedback, but also a good balance between positive and critical responses:
"Because of the valuable comments from residents, we ourselves have insight into charging locations that are incorrectly registered by operators."
Residents contribute their own ideas for new charging stations
Residents in Leiden can also suggest new locations themselves, in responses. Leiden residents submitted 74 new proposals, of which 26% met the requirements and wishes of the charging station operators rolling out the network. This brings the total number of potential charging locations back to 19.
Eric Jellema: "It was nice to see that residents were also looking for alternatives, some of which we were able to use."
Own organization also on edge
The EVTools software is built on collaboration. Not only residents and businesses, but also charge point operators and the municipality's internal organization actively work with the data from the EVTools platform. In the case of Leiden, for example, the city council and municipal executive were also involved in the charging map: "Valuable feedback came from various departments within the municipality that further improved the plan map. Everyone was involved!"
Participation with complete unburdening
The participation tool was used by municipalities in combination with a full de-risking process. In this trajectory, the municipality is fully supported during the participation process. This included help with communication about the process, the settings of the participation tool and a thorough analysis of the reactions of residents. After the process was completed, there was also input on possible adjustments to the plan map, provided it was in line with the policy goals and wishes of the municipality . "The responses from the tool were very valuable! Thanks to the analysis from EVTools, we were able to reach possible adjustments faster."
Support for participation
A participatory process not only makes municipalities' and charge point operators' charging plans stronger, but also more valuable! As a software company, we also understand that analyzing all responses from residents can be a time-consuming task for municipalities and charge point operators. Therefore EVTools offers support in guiding participation processes as well as analyzing the responses. We train partners such as The Energy Office and Stantec. Would you also like to work with EVTools software? Feel free to contact our director Tim van Beek.
With our software, participation becomes easier, more efficient and more valuable for both the municipality and its residents!
