PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend City Council has voted unanimously to authorize use of city land for ultra-fast charging stations.
Monday night’s move is part of an effort to make the city friendlier to electric vehicles (EVs).
The council also authorized City Manager John Mauro to take part in applications for state grants.
A grant program is under development to expand the EV charger network along the U.S. Highway 101 corridor, Public Works Director Steve King said.
“The idea is to get as many Level 3 chargers on that corridor as possible,” he told the council, adding that state Highway 20 in Port Townsend would be considered part of the 101 region.
Level 3 units have the power to fully recharge an EV in 20 to 40 minutes, King said.
Those are uncommon, however, compared with the Level 2 chargers found across the Olympic Peninsula.
The Northwest Maritime Center, Windermere Real Estate, John L Scott Real Estate and Jefferson Transit’s Four Corners Road operations center are a few of the other EV-charging locations listed on the www.evstationslocal.com website. The Port Townsend Food Co-op also has an EV charging station.
At the relatively plentiful Level 2 units, it can take up to four hours or more to fully recharge, King said.
Installation costs are quite different between the types: Level 2 chargers are a few thousand dollars each while the Level 3 variety can run up to $200,000 per system.
As for locations in the city, King focused on the city’s parking lot beside the skate park on Monroe and Washington streets. That could be an ideal spot for new charging stations, King said, as it’s downtown and close to attractions such as Point Hudson, Memorial Athletic Field and Key City Public Theatre (KCPT) — yet therein lies a potential problem.
The chargers could occupy four to eight parking spaces outside KCPT’s playhouse. They would be operated by a private company and not by the city, King added.
The question is whether the operator would reopen the parking spots to KCPT patrons when performances are going on.
Doing that “does present challenges,” King said.
“Somebody shows up expecting a charge,” and the parking spaces aren’t available, which inconveniences the EV driver.
Then “you get bad reviews on Plugshare, and it just kind of goes downhill from there,” King said, referring to the mobile app EV travelers use to find charging stations.
In earlier discussions, The Chamber of Jefferson County Visitor Center at 2409 Jefferson St. was a possible location for the fast chargers. It’s in city right of way and still a possibility, King said.
City Council member Owen Rowe then inquired about the future of these chargers if they are located downtown, close to the waterfront.
“Would these facilities be vulnerable to sea-level rise, king tides or any sort of climate change effects?” he asked.
“I think that, yes, I think they would be vulnerable,” King replied.
“However, the life span of these units is not much beyond 10 to 20 years … certainly if they were 50 years out,” and the city was making such modifications, “they would need to be elevated.”
The charging stations “would be subject to sea level challenges along with the rest of the power infrastructure,” King added.
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Jefferson County senior reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladailynews.com.
