LIHU‘E — Is there a kit to convert gasoline-powered engines into electric engines or was it a case of wishful thinking by the owner of a souped-up truck? On Tuesday afternoon, a lifted Toyota truck could be seen parked at
LIHU‘E — Is there a kit to convert gasoline-powered engines into electric engines or was it a case of wishful thinking by the owner of a souped-up truck?
On Tuesday afternoon, a lifted Toyota truck could be seen parked at a stall at Kukui Grove Center reserved for one of the 25 or more electric cars circulating on Kaua‘i.
The four-wheel-drive truck even had the electric hose from the electric charging station stuck under the hood, where electric cars usually hook up to receive a fresh charge.
Act 89, signed by Gov. Neil Abercrombie on April 26, 2012, states that, “Places of public accommodation with at least one hundred parking spaces available for use by the general public shall have at least one parking space exclusively for electric vehicles and equipped with an electric vehicle charging system located anywhere in the parking structure or lot by July 1, 2012.”
Kukui Grove Center has approximately 2,400 stalls, and two stalls for electric cars. One is by Payless ShoeSource, near the now-defunct Borders. The other, where the truck was parked on Tuesday, is near Starbucks.
Act 89 also states that beginning Jan. 1, 2013, any person who parks a non-electric vehicle in a space designated and marked as reserved for electric vehicles shall receive a warning.
Currently, there is no charge to plug an electric car at Kukui Grove charging stations.
The management at Kukui Grove Center declined comment.
