Electricity charging stations and the public space

A Xebra electric vehicle charges in downtown Portland, Ore.,Monday, June 9, 2008. Retail gas prices rose further above a national average of $4 Monday, and are likely to keep rising as distributors and retailers hike prices in response to last week's unprecedented oil price rally. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

The Overhead Wire ponders about adding electricity charging stations for plug in hybrid cars. I think this example from Portland shows that it would be nicer to do something that is more elegantly integrated into the public space.

Note that for years I kept advocating including electrical outlets in treeboxes as part of streetscape improvement upgrades, although PEPCO, the local utility, is not favorable and has fought off all such suggestions (although they do accede to plugs in streetlights). It won't be happening, at least with treeboxes, on H Street.

Rendering of an improved H Street NE streetscape by the Michael Baker Corporation, produced during the 2003-2004 H Street NE Corridor Transportation Study.

Now that plug in hybrids are on the horizon, it's another reason to consider it.

Note also that part of the delay in implementing the SmartBike bicycle sharing system in DC has been due to delays in installing electrical power infrastructure for the stations.

Jim Sebastian, with the District of Columbia's Department of Transportation, poses with a SmartBike DC prototype bicycle in Washington on Thursday April 24, 2008. The system allows annual members to pick up and drop off bicycles in the city, and is the first such program to launch in the United States. The European-style bike-sharing service is similar to car-sharing services like Zipcar. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Makes the fact that the Montreal transportation system has invented their own bicycle sharing equipment infrastructure and powering it through solar cells, all the more interesting. See the Public Bike System website from Stationnment de Montreal.