Last fall, when the West Seattle Transportation Coalition got briefed on a possible WS location for a public electric-vehicle “fast-charging” location (WSB coverage here), the city was looking at Don Armeni Boat Ramp. Now, there’s an official proposal, and the location has changed: City Light is proposing a site in The Junction, alongside West Seattle Bowl.
Here’s a ground-level rendering of where it would be:
From the City Light one-sheet (PDF) about the proposal:
If built, the location will include two 50-kilowatt (kW) fast chargers located along the curb. Two existing street parking spaces would be converted to “EV charging only” spaces, and drivers would be limited to one hour of parking while charging at these spaces. These 50kW fast chargers can provide a typical EV with about three miles of range for every minute of charging. Average charging sessions are expected to last for 15 to 30 minutes. The chargers are anticipated to have a useful life of ten years.
The one-sheet also explains why this location is proposed, and why others were ruled out, including Don Armeni; that explanation – “(Seattle Parks) identified Don Armeni Boat Ramp as a potential charging station site in West Seattle. However, the site development costs were too high.”
The charging station would cost the city almost $200,000 (users pay for charging, in case you’re not familiar with how these work); regarding a timeline, City Light says it would “begin the engineering and design process in the second/third quarter of 2019. Construction is scheduled to follow.”
If you have feedback about this proposal, the city has set up an online survey that’ll remain open until the end of the month – see it here. The SCL program has already opened one station on Beacon Hill – here’s a city-provided photo:
The city has five others on the drawing board (also listed on the one-sheet) in addition to, potentially, this one. Questions? The City Light Public EV Charging Team is at 206-684-3800 or SCL_ElectricVehicles@seattle.gov.
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