northampton ev chargers activated
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Central ServicesMemorial Hall, 240 Main Street
Northampton, MA 01060David Pomerantz (413) 587-1238 Fax: (413) 587-1248
Director of Central Services
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – October 18, 2012
CONTACT: Chris Mason, Northampton’s Energy and Sustainability Officer
(413) 587-1055, [email protected]
City Turns On Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
NORTHAMPTON, MA (October 18, 2012) – On Monday October 15, 2012, five of ultimately eight
City-owned electric vehicle charging stations were turned on and are ready to welcome electric
vehicles to Northampton. Already installed are two chargers located at the bottom of Crafts Avenue,
two at Fire Department Headquarters on Carlon Drive off of King Street and two in the Gare Parking
Garage. Two more chargers will be installed in the police station parking garage being constructed on
Center Street and will be available to the general public after business hours once the garage is open.
Due to a communication problem between the chargers in the parking garage and an off-site data
center there has been a delay in activating one of the chargers in the parking garage. “This is a
temporary technical problem that the installer is working on.” says Chris Mason, Northampton Energy
and Sustainability Officer. “We expect the second charger to be up and running within a week or two.
In the meantime, the City wanted to let our small but growing number of electric vehicle (EV) owners
know that there are five chargers now available for use In Northampton.”
The Northampton Transportation and Parking Commission recently approved a temporary parking
arrangement at the chargers until the Commission and City staff can research and propose to City
Council a formal City ordinance regulating use of the chargers. This temporary arrangement will
enable City staff to monitor the use of the charging stations to inform a final recommendation.
The Commission is asking that EV owners use the parking spaces at the chargers only while charging. If
an EV owner plans on parking for longer than it takes to fill-up their car’s batteries, the Commission
asks the owner to estimate how long it will take the car to charge and plan on moving the car to
another location once it is charged.
The parking spaces at the bottom of Crafts Avenue will serve two purposes: free 15-minute parking
and EV parking while charging. City staff recognizes that these two spots are heavily used for quick
stops so the City is asking EV owners to respect this use and move their car once it is charged. City staff
will closely monitor the use of these two parking spots during this initial period and report back to the
Transportation and Parking Commission.
To encourage local use of low-pollution high-mileage electric vehicles, charging atNorthampton’s EV
stations will be free to the general public until commercial paid-charging stations appear or the cost of
operating City-owned chargers rises above the minimal cost of serving early-adopters.
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