6 vehicle
spaces converted to 12 LSV spaces with a new picnic area
Charging Up Your City
Do you want to charge up
your city? The following are some thoughts for charging up your community's
excitement level, charging up your electrical devices, and charging up your
economy.
The Denver Post June 24,
2012 article, “Getting a charge out of new law,” described a new state law
effective in August. This law will allow anyone to sell electricity. One
potential application is for electrical charging stations spread throughout the
city. The law is aimed at charging electric vehicles, but the charging stations
could be used to charge any electrical device. Consider for example, a charging
station at a park. The same station could be used to charge an electric vehicle
as well as a laptop, cell phone, or tablet.
For the owner of the
charging station, this could be an additional source of income, be it the
government entity that owns the park or a business owner with some unused rooftop
space for solar panels.
The electric vehicle owners
will have convenient, reasonably priced electricity to reduce "range anxiety"
concerns. Refill costs may be “$4 instead of $40 or more for a tank of gas.”
With the reduced emissions from the electric vehicles, everyone will benefit
from the cleaner air. This could be a win-win for all stakeholders.
As much potential as the
reselling of the electricity holds, this is only the tip of the iceberg, so to
speak. The big impact could come from combining the charging stations with low
speed vehicles (LSVs).
Of the many types of vehicles
permitted on the road today in Colorado,
low speed vehicles could be an up and coming mode of transportation. LSVs
include neighborhood electric vehicles and golf cars (golf carts with head
lights and brake lights). LSVs are already permitted on roads with a speed
limit of 35 mph or less and can cross roads with a higher speed limit at
intersections.
For car drivers, the LSVs
are significantly lower cost. For senior drivers, they are also safer to
operate. Thus, LSVs can provide mobility options for later in life.
The real potential of LSVs
is the fact that the vehicles are one forth the size of traditional gas powered
motor vehicles. Thus, if there were enough users of LSVs, the city could restripe
a few parking lots and get a 4 fold increase in parking. Or, some of the space
could be reclaimed for non-parking uses. For example, consider the economic
impact of this reclaimed land used for additional outdoor seating at a
restaurant. Developers could use this extra space for a larger building
footprint, which may translate to more sales tax revenue or property tax
revenue.
There are a number of
actions that planners can take:
1) Promote the use of LSV noting the benefits such as
lower cost, safer, lower emissions, smaller size, and more non-parking space
for developers/landowners.
2) Make sure that all zoning and ordinances allow for
the charging stations and solar panel installation.
3) Make sure that parking requirements are properly
adjusted for LSVs.
4) Create a connectivity map of the city noting key
destinations such as stores, parks, schools, and residences and roads with
speed limits <= 35 mph. If the key destinations are not connected, see if
there is an easy way to add the missing connectivity such as changing a speed
limit from 45 to 35 mph.
5) Determine how to best reallocate the reclaimed land
to benefit the city and its residents.
NOTE: This was also published in
APA Colorado Q3 newsletter
