Montgomery County Department of Transportation, Division of Parking (MCDOT), which manages the operation and enforcement of Electric Vehicle charging stations in all County owned and operated public parking facilities, has changed the signs at their EV charging stations to clearly state that the spots are for charging. The new signs are in response to customer feedback that electric vehicles were parking in the spaces and not actually plugging in and charging.
The previous signs stated, “No Parking Except Electric Vehicles” which may not have communicated clearly enough for some that the spots are intended for using the charging station and not just for parking an EV.
There is an ordinance in Montgomery County that went into effect in June, 2014 that makes it illegal to ICE a public charging station. [Law Prohibits “ICEing” of Charging Stations in Montgomery County, MD]
The relevant portion of Montgomery County Code § 31-26B, is:
(c) A person may not stop, stand, or park a vehicle that is not a plug-in vehicle in a space that:
(1) is marked for use of plug-in vehicles with an official sign that conforms to regulations adopted pursuant to Section 31-23; and
(2) provides access to a plug-in vehicle recharging station.
The new signs are intended as a way to manage the issue of non-charging EVs parking in the spots without changing the original parameters of § 31-26B which aims to only penalize non plug-in vehicles that park in the spots.
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