Cities are scrambling for solutions, from installing hundreds of public charging stations on street lights and power poles to updating building codes to require electrified parking spaces.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Stephanie Terrell bought a used Nissan Leaf this fall and was excited to join the wave of drivers adopting electric vehicles to save on gas money and reduce her carbon footprint.
Now, cities from Portland to Los Angeles to New York City are trying to come up with innovative public charging solutions as drivers string power cords across sidewalks, stand up their own private charging stations on city right-of-ways and line up at public facilities. The quickest place to charge is a fast charger, also known as DC Fast. Those charge a car in 20 to 45 minutes. But slower chargers which take several hours, known as Level 2, still outnumber DC fast chargers by nearly four to one, although their numbers are growing. Charging an electric vehicle on a standard residential outlet, or Level 1 charger, isn't practical unless you drive little or can leave the car plugged in overnight, as many homeowners can.
Amid the boom, dense city neighborhoods are rapidly becoming pressure points in the patchy transition to electrification. Similar initiatives to install pole-mounted chargers are in place or being considered in cities from New York City to Charlotte, N.C. to Kansas City, Missouri. The utility Seattle City Light is also in the early stages of a pilot project to install chargers in neighborhoods where people can't charge at home.
Policies that provide equal access to charging are critical because with tax incentives and the emergence of a robust used-EV market, zero-emissions cars are finally within financial reach for lower-income drivers, said Ingrid Fish, who is in charge of Portland's transportation decarbonization program.
Some European cities are far ahead of even the most electric-savvy U.S. cities. London, for example, has 4,000 public chargers on street lights. That's much cheaper — just a third the cost of wiring a charging station into the sidewalk, said Vishant Kothari, manager of the electric mobility team at the World Resources Institute.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
PolitiFact - Ted Cruz’s misleading claim that only Democratic cities take days to count votesSen. Ted Cruz said Democratic cities take “‘days’ to count their votes” while “the rest of the country manages to get it done on election night.” That’s misleading in multiple ways. In some states Republicans set laws that shape the pace of the count.
Read more »
San Antonio spent $700,000 transporting migrants to other cities over past 3 monthsSan Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg says the city expects to be reimbursed by FEMA. SanAntonio SATX SanAntonioTX Texas Immigration Migrants GregAbbbott
Read more »
Mexico scraps daylight savings time except for cities along border with the U.S.MEXICO CITY— Mexico’s Senate approved a bill to eliminate daylight saving time, putting an end to the practice of changing clocks twice a year. Some cities...
Read more »
As elections near, Cruz asks the wrong question about ‘blue cities’The problem isn't just that Ted Cruz is trying to mislead about how elections work. The more serious concern is why he’s trying to mislead.
Read more »
Shipwrecks, Volcanic Ash And Lost Cities Come To The Surface In Lake MeadVolcanic ash that is 12 million years old, sunken ships and towns from a bygone era make their way to the surface as Lake Mead recedes.
Read more »
These 10 cities have the most affordable housing markets🏠 Looking to buy a home? Scranton, Pa. boasts the most affordable housing market in America according to a new report. TV fans may recognize Scranton as the setting for the NBC comedy “The Office.” Here are the top 10 most affordable housing markets:
Read more »