The Parking Authority of Baltimore City garage in the Royal Farms Arena just got three more charging stations installed.
These are part of the partnership between Baltimore-based company, EVI and the City of Baltimore to expand EV charging at some city-owned garages and street-side locations. All stations in the garage are free to use.
Royal Farms Arena Garage has had one ChargePoint station with a Level 1 and a Level 2 port for a few years. There are now three additional Level 2 stations supplied by EVI on the second floor adjacent to the original station. The address of the Arena Garage is 99 S. Howard Street. The garage entrance is on a one way street just north of Lombard Street.
We recently drove down to North Mrytle Beach, SC to attend a wedding and stayed at the North Beach Plantation. We were pleased to find that we could charge our Model S right outside of the reception hall at the Tesla HPWC shown in the photo above.
The hotel that we stayed at also had an HPWC and a ClipperCreek universal J-1772 charging station in the garage. The resort uses electric shuttle buses that might be parked at the charging stations, but we were quickly able to find a valet who cheerfully moved the shuttle bus out of a spot for us to charge.
The two destination charging locations on the North Beach Plantation Resort grounds are not yet on the Tesla Destination Charging map. Tesla has been very busy getting partners into the destination charging program that they must have a hard time keeping the map up to date with new installations.
If you know of a hotel, resort or other location that would be a good candidate for a destination charging station, have them contact the Tesla Destination Charging team.
UPDATE: The Surface Transportation Reauthorization & Reform Act passed the House and is now headed to conference with the Senate before a Nov. 20 deadline to avoid a gap in highway funding.
Allows the GSA to install and operate EV charging stations for private vehicle use at Federal facilities.
An amendment, modeled after the EV-COMUTE Act, that would allow the General Services Administration (GSA) to construct, install, and operate electric vehicle (EV) charging stations for private vehicle use at federal facilities at no cost to taxpayers was adopted by the US House of Representatives on November 3, 2015.
Federal agencies currently have no authority to install and operate EV charging stations, so federal employees and contractors are unable to charge their vehicles while at work.
The amendment to the Surface Transportation Reauthorization & Reform Act of 2015 was sponsored by Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY), Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA). Congressman Massie modeled the amendment after the EV-COMUTE Act (H.R. 3509) of 2014 written by Congresswoman Lofgren. The amendment added language to the original bill that will give jurisdiction to the GSA for the installation and operation of the charging stations at Federal facilities.
“In 2012, Congress passed legislation to allow electric vehicle recharging at the U.S. Capitol for congressmen and their staff for a fee, but neglected to extend this authority to other federal agencies and employees. Our amendment would correct this disparity,” said Rep. Massie, who serves on both the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.
Will give Federal employees more options in their commute.
“I first learned of this issue after a constituent wrote me a letter last year,” said Rep. Lofgren, who introduced the EV-COMUTE Act that served as template for this amendment. “In it, he said he was ‘surprised and dismayed’ that it is illegal for federal facilities to provide electric vehicle charging stations for the public or their employees, even at no cost to taxpayers. My family has an electric car and I know they are an important part of improving efficiency and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. As this amendment was adopted on the House floor today, it served as a powerful reminder of the role citizens play in generating new ideas and legislation.”
“In my personal and public life, I consistently support an all-of-the-above energy strategy for the United States,” concluded Rep. Massie, an MIT graduate who drives a Tesla electric car daily in Washington, D.C. “I’m proud to sponsor this amendment because it will expand transportation options for many Americans at no cost to taxpayers.”
Eshoo, who also introduced the original EV-COMUTE legislation said, “As the nation’s largest employer, the federal government should lead by example in offering workplace charging. Silicon Valley is home to thousands of electric vehicle owners, yet the more than 5,000 federal employees in my congressional district have no access to charging facilities at work because of a quirk in existing law.”
The House is expected to vote later this week on the Surface Transportation bill, H. R. 3763.
Double ICEd by Tractor-Trailer
Take a look at that picture. A tractor-trailer truck is blocking not just one, but TWO EV charging stations. And those are the only charging stations for miles around.
This occurred on August 27, 2015 at the “Charging Up Delaware” EV charging stations installed at the Royal Farms store in Bridgeville, DE. I approached the manager of the Royal Farms and she told me that the truck drivers park there and leave them – sometimes for days.
New Installation, Signs Ordered
I wrote an email to the director of the program at the University of Delaware. He explained that the charging stations had just been installed and that signs would be there eventually, but it may take a month or two. We had no choice but to drive slowly, conserving range, to the next available charging station which was in Rehoboth Beach.
No Truck, Cone Placed
The next time we passed through was on September 17th. This time there were no trucks parked there, but no signs yet either. I spoke with a Customer Service Leader at the Royal Farms and she helpfully offered to place orange cones by the charging stations to discourage trucks from parking there. She was able to find only one cone but cheerfully promised to order several more.
No Signs, Cone Gone
On the most recent excursion through Bridgeville on October 25th, I was disappointed to see there were no signs posted yet and the cone was gone. Fortunately, the stations were not ICEd and both stations were accessible. I hope that Royal Farms and the University of Delaware will find a permanent solution to prevent the trucks from blocking these valuable and needed charging stations that enable long-distance EV travel on the DelMarVa peninsula.
Nice dedication ceremony Monday night for the Front Royal, VA CHAdeMO/SAE Combo (CCS) Fast Charger.
Front Royal Town Council (including Mayor Timothy Darr), Virginia Clean Cities Executive Director Alleyn Harned & Deputy Director Matt Wade, representatives of Tri-State Nissan (with a black 2015 Leaf S), and a reporter from WHAG-TV in Hagerstown, MD were among those in attendance. A new Tesla Model S owner from Northern VA also made the trip out and had his car on display.
photo: Rick Rohn
Council Members in attendance seemed genuinely excited about the prospect of drawing EV owners off Interstates 81 & 66 / Routes 340 & 522 and into town to enjoy great dining and shopping opportunities which are all an easy walk from the new charging station.
photo: Rick Rohn
The station operates on the Greenlots network.
Thanks to Rick Rohn for contributing this report to Plug In Sites. Rick drives a Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt. He is a strong advocate for EV charging infrastructure in and around the eastern panhandle of West Virginia where he lives.
The Division of Parking Management of the Montgomery County Dept. of Transportation has installed electric vehicle charging stations in five county-owned garages in Bethesda, Silver Spring and Wheaton.
This is an expansion of a program to integrate EV charging stations into suitable county-owned parking facilities. Charging stations that can serve six cars at once were installed in Bethesda’s Capital Crescent Garage (Garage 31) earlier this year. The county’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Overview Plan calls for two more dual-port stations in Garage 31 if demand warrants.
Phase 1
The new locations that are part of Phase 1 are:
Woodmont Corner Garage (Garage 11) and Waverly Garage (Garage 47) in Bethesda
Cameron/Second St. Garage (Garage 7) and Kennett St. Garage (Garage 9) in Silver Spring
Amherst Garage (Garage 45) in Wheaton
Phase 2
Phase 2 of the plan, not yet implemented, calls for charging stations at Garage 36 in Bethesda and Garage 5, Garage 60 and Garage 61 in Silver Spring and Lot 13 in Wheaton.
The county currently charges a fee of $0.13/kWh for using the charging stations which is roughly the fair market value of the electricity. Users must also pay the hourly parking fee during posted hours. There is a four hour limit for parking at the charging stations. Four hours was determined to be sufficient time for most daily commuters to recharge.
Signage
All of the EV charging spaces are designated with regulatory signage to permit enforcement under § 31-26B of the Montgomery County Code.
Since universal EV sign standards have yet to be established, the Division of Parking Management has developed their own regulatory signage. (shown at right)
ADA Accessibility
In order to remove barriers to access under the ADA, each electric vehicle parking space is 11 feet wide with a 5 foot aisle. Priority is given to a location that is on the most level surface closest to an accessible entrance. Click the links below to see maps.
Maps
Maps are available to the three Parking Lot Districts that show the county garages that have electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Click the links below to see maps.
Driving an electric vehicle along Route 50 to the Maryland beaches will soon be far more practical. Royal Farms stores in Cambridge, Salisbury, and Ocean City have broken ground for SAE Combo and CHAdeMO fast charging stations. Once they are operational, these fast chargers will allow folks driving a BMW i3, Chevy Spark EV, Nissan LEAF or other fast charging equipped EV to hopscotch their way along Rt. 50 from the Washington-Baltimore area to Ocean City.
Ocean City, MD Royal Farms Store
Route 50 to Ocean City Becoming “Electrified”
In March, the Maryland Energy Administration announced the 2015 Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program (EVIP) grant winners. The $1,000,000 EVIP grant will be used to install fast chargers throughout the state by October 1, 2016. The grant recipients must pay for at least half the cost themselves and it is a requirement to support both SAE Combined Charging System (CCS) and CHAdeMO standards at each location.
The Royal Farms convenience store chain won grant funds to install chargers at 15 of their stores. I’ve been scouting the Royal Farms stores in Cambridge, Salisbury, and Ocean City for signs of construction every time I happen to drive past them. Sometimes I would go in and ask the store manager when the charging stations were coming. At first they had no idea what I was talking about. In recent months they knew about the plans, but didn’t know exactly when they would be installed.
Click map to get details and charger location addresses of planned EVIP CHAdeMO/SAE Combo locations.
Cambridge, Salisbury and Ocean City Coming Soon
This weekend, my search finally paid off. I was driving out to Ocean City and as I approached the Royal Farms on the south side of Cambridge, my eyes scanned the edges of the parking lot where a charging station would likely be installed. I caught sight of two green bollards next to some new electrical panels. As I drew closer, I saw a freshly poured concrete pad with electrical conduit jutting out. The chargers were not installed yet, but construction was well under way.
Salisbury, MD Royal Farms Store
As I traveled east on Rt. 50, I stopped at the Royal Farms in Salisbury and Ocean City. The construction at both locations was at a similar state of progress as Cambridge. The Salisbury store even had signs in place. An inspection sticker at the Cambridge site had a date of October 21, 2015 on it. I suspect that the ground was broken on all three within the past week or so.
Cambridge, MD Royal Farms Store
Stay Tuned for Updates
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Workplace charging has a long way to go. This slide from yesterday’s California Air Resources Board (CARB) meeting shows 1,775 Workplace Level 2 charging stations currently installed in California. (as of September, 2015)
In order to meet the state’s goal of having infrastructure to support 1 million Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEVs) by 2020, there needs to be between 82,000 and 144,000 L2 charging stations according to a report* by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory prepared for the California Energy Commission. *CEC-600-2014-003
Exciting news for EV drivers traveling to Ocean City, Maryland. The Holiday Inn Oceanfront in OC has six EV charging stations. A note on their Facebook page says, “We are excited to be able to offer this amenity to our EV guests, and look forward having you charge towards a greener future with us.”
A representative of the hotel told PlugInSites, “We just got them up yesterday and are waiting for the electric company to come and finish the job.”
The installation includes four Tesla HPWCs and two ClipperCreek universal stations. The universal stations have J-1772 connectors that can charge any modern electric car.
The Holiday Inn Oceanfront is located on 67th Street in Ocean City. Visit them on the web at holidayinnoceanfront.com
Stay tuned for updates on when these charging stations will be online and ready to use.
Alex Roy, Carl Reese and Deena Mastracci, are apparently attempting to set a record for fastest Autopilot equipped Tesla to drive coast to coast. Alex Roy held the cross country “Cannonball Run” NY to LA driving record for a number of years with a BMW M5 that covered the distance at an average speed over 90 mph with top speeds reaching 160 MPH. Roy’s record was broken in October, 2013 by Ed Bolin who drove the distance in 28 hours, 50 minutes and 26 seconds.
Carl Reese, his fiancé Deena Mastracci, and Rodney Hawk drove Reese’s Model S P85D 3,011 miles from LA to New York in 58 hours and 55 minutes in April, 2015. They are listed in the Guinness World Records as having the least non-driving time to cross the United States in an electric vehicle at 12 hours, 48 minutes and 19 seconds. This beat the record set by a pair of Model S sent by Tesla Motors in early 2014 when the Supercharger network was established to the point that would enable cars to drive coast to coast exclusively using Supercharger stations.
I got a clue that something was up this morning when @AlexRoy144 tweeted, “What Is The Level 2 Autonomous Driving Record? Enquiring Minds Want to Know” #Tesla #Autopilot
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposed classification system, a Level 2 automated vehicle system has at least two controls that can be automated in unison, such as adaptive cruise control and lane keeping.
Alex Roy put a video on Instagram from Richfield Utah with a red Model S with the alarm going off in the background asking, “Has Elon Musk bricked our Tesla Model S in the middle of our level 2 autonomous driving cross country road trip?”
Another Instagram photo shows 90 MPH on a dim speedometer display with this note: I’m sorry, officer. I couldn’t read how fast the car was driving itself. #NotAllExcuses
This team is likely to be the first to cross the United States since Version 7.0 with Autopilot was released to the public. I’m excited to see Alex Roy in the car with the two experienced Tesla drivers. Roy recently shared his thoughts on the consequences for driving enthusiasts in an autonomous car future in an article, “How Science Fiction Failed Us: The Real Future Of Autonomous Cars.” Worth a read.
Workplace charging has a long way to go. This slide from yesterday’s California Air Resources Board (CARB) meeting shows 1,775 Workplace Level 2 charging stations currently installed in California. (as of September, 2015)
