By Michael Coughlin Jr.
As part of a City of Boston demonstration program, new electrical vehicle (EV) charging ports are slated to come to different areas throughout the city — including East Boston — and the Gove Street Citizens Association (GSCA) learned about the projected whereabouts of these ports during its monthly meeting last week.
Matthew Warfield of the Boston Transportation Department presented the abovementioned demonstration program to the GSCA that would bring 120 curbside EV charging ports to 30 citywide locations.
Of the 30 total locations slated to receive these charging ports, three are in East Boston. While Warfield indicated that the city has been installing charging stations at municipal lots, he said, “East Boston is lacking in public access [to] EV charging.”
Moreover, he indicated that this past summer, two requests for proposals (RFP) were released to gather more information regarding “getting private operators to operate EV charging stations from the public right-of-way” and “what it would cost the city to own and operate charging stations at these locations,” which led to this program.
As for why the city has decided to pursue this, Warfield laid out several reasons, including the growing demand for EV charging, a city goal of all households without a private parking space being within a five-minute walk of a publicly accessible charging station, and more.
Regarding where these ports will be installed in East Boston, there are plans for four level II charging ports in each location, which are at the front of the building at 150 Orleans Street, across from 62-74 Prescott Street, and at 1 Prescott Street.
“We chose these locations based on a pretty significant analysis that used a number of metrics. Everything from how wide is the sidewalk, does this physically fit here, to is this ADA accessible, are there trees nearby, is there utility things, have we received request, demand,” said Warfield.
Regarding the stations themselves, the plan is to install Flo CoRe+ Max single or dual port stations, which charge at 19.2 kW per hour, “which is the highest charge you can have for a level II station,” according to Warfield.
Additionally, new regulations would be associated with the installation of these ports. The charging stations will be available 24/7, except for street cleaning or a snow emergency, and parking at these stations will be restricted.
“They’ll be regulated as no parking except for electric vehicles while charging, and there will be a four-hour limit in place,” said Warfield.
“We’re going to have that four-hour limit in place around the clock, just understanding that people have different schedules. Some folks might work during the day, or some folks might work at night, you know, get back at different hours, so this isn’t really about allowing folks to park their car overnight and charge; it’s really about maximizing the number of people that can access these stations,” he added.
Moreover, non-EVs, EVs not charging, or those that have been there longer than four hours can be ticketed.
In terms of cost, a to-be-determined charge between $0.25 and $0.35 per kWh will be assessed. “This isn’t necessarily making us money; it’s offsetting the cost a little bit,” said Warfield. Also, an overtime fee will be implemented to ensure residents move their cars after charging is complete.
Following his presentation, Warfield took several questions from those in attendance. One attendee had a concern about the 150 Orleans Street port locations, and Warfield pulled up a street view of the area and demonstrated that the ports would be out in front of the building.
Enforcement was also discussed, and Warfield spoke thoroughly about working with traffic enforcement. “If we can get them to be more present for these spaces, then they’ll also be present for other violations,” he said.
Finally, Warfield provided more information on a timeline for installation and indicated that the plan is to have all 30 locations “installed and operational” by the end of August.
To learn more about the city’s plans for EVs and more, visit https://www.boston.gov/departments/transportation/recharge-boston-electric-vehicle-resources.
“We do have on our website, at recharge Boston, we have a link where you can go and request or suggest a location for charges because we do — if this works out well — we plan on continuing to install in other areas,” said Warfield.
“So it’s a great way for us to get feedback from folks of where they think, particularly curbside charging would work well.”