Longmont adds fifth free-to-the-public electric vehicle charging station
Longmont Power and Communications, the city’s municipal electricity utility, has installed a new electric vehicle charging station in the parking garage underneath the Longmont Public Library.
The new charging station is the fifth city-owned free-to-the-public station Longmont has made available for electric vehicles, according a city news release. The Longmont Public Library site is in the city garage under the building on the west side of the 300 block of Emery Street.
“Longmont continues to plug into our charging stations, and we’re glad to be able to expand those options now,” Longmont Power and Communications Executive Director David Hornbacher said in a statement.
“The library has always been a community hub, so this allows us to meet people where they are and make it even easier for our residents and visitors to pursue zero-emission choices,” he said.
Free city-owned chargers can also be found in the parking lot behind the east side of the buildings on the 300 block of Main Street; at the Longmont Museum, 400 Quail Road; at the Longmont Service Center, 1100 S. Sherman St.; and the St. Vrain Memorial Building, 700 Longs Peak Ave.
Officials said that so far this year, Longmont’s chargers have been used about 2,500 times.
More information about the chargers can be found online by going to longmontcolorado.gov/lpc and selecting “Electric Service” and “Electric Vehicle Charging Stations.”
Librarian Devon Smith, who the news release credited with having spearheaded the new-station effort from the Longmont Public Library’s side, called it a “labor of love” aimed at normalizing electric vehicles and helping them be seen as a viable alternative means of transportation.
“The Longmont Library is committed to supporting eco-friendly practices and we are very proud that that now includes an EV charging station for our patrons and staff,” Smith said in a statement.
The city noted in its news release that the announcement of the new charging station was being made just before the Sept. 26 to Oct. 4 National Drive Electric Week. In leading up to that, the city is co-sponsoring — along with local environmental organization Sustinabl Resilient Longmont — an electric vehicle webinar Thursday night and an electric vehicle motorcade through downtown Longmont on Saturday night.
The 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday Zoom webinar — “The EV Solution: How Electric Vehicles combat climate change while promoting affordability and equity” — will feature state and local leaders highlighting the clean-air benefits and cost savings of electric cars, Sustainable Resilient Longmont said in its news release.
People must register to view the webinar and can do so at tinyurl.com/y45c3w97.
It is to include presentations by Christine Berg from the Colorado Energy Office, Boulder County Commissioner Elise Jones, who’s a member of the state Air Quality Control Commission, and Longmont city sustainability specialist Francie Jaffe.
The webinar also will include a panel of local electric vehicle owners and a “Virtual EV Tour and Test Drive” with two electric vehicles — a Tesla Model 3 and a Fiat 500e — and a Harley Livewire electric motorcycle.
Saturday’s 5 to 6 p.m. downtown Longmont electric vehicle motorcade is to begin at Roosevelt Park’s south parking lot at 700 Longs Peak Ave. with drivers heading east to Main Street, parading south on Main, making a U-turn at Third Avenue and returning north on Main.
Sustainable Resilient Longmont said that along with the city, other co-sponsors of what it’s calling “EV Week 2020” are Boulder County, Namasté Solar, High Country Harley Davidson, Boulder Hybrids, Citizens’ Climate Lobby and EVmatch.
Source : timescall
