Electric Vehicle Charging Station Location Analysis
Prepared by: A/GFTC
February 2015
1
Introduction
Interest in alternative fuel cars is growing. In the A/GFTC area, electric or hybrid vehicles are registered
to owners in all but one zip code
1. Currently, the dominant type of alternative fuel vehicle is the non‐
plug‐in Hybrid, with 1,542 vehicles registered in the A/GFTC area. There are currently 70 vehicles
registered in the region which require plug‐in charging, including full‐size electric vehicles, Global
Electric Motorcars (also known as GEM vehicles), and
plug‐in hybrids. As deployment of plug‐in vehicles
continues to increase, A/GFTC can provide data regarding potential locations for Level II Electric Vehicle
charging stations. These types of charging stations supply 240 volts and can charge vehicles much faster
than a standard 120 volt plug.
There are currently seven
charging stations within the A/GFTC region ‐ four are located at hotels or
private businesses and are not intended to be used by members of the public. Two stations located at
Glens Falls Hospital, as well as one at Green Mountain Electric Supply on Corinth Road in Queensbury,
are available for public
use. Electric vehicles have also been noted using Level 1 charging in outlets
under the South Street Parking Pavilion in Glens Falls. As interest in electric and plug‐in hybrid vehicles
grow, demand for charging stations is also anticipated to increase.
Scope of Analysis
As an initial planning product, this
analysis includes only those municipalities within the Glens Falls
urbanized area, which includes the City of Glens Falls, the villages of Hudson Falls, South Glens Falls, Fort
Edward, and Lake George, and portions of the towns of Queensbury, Kingsbury, Moreau, Fort Edward,
and Lake George. This area was selected as the
most likely location for the initial deployment of public
EV Charging Stations. However, this analysis was designed to be easily replicated for any municipality
within the A/GFTC region.
This analysis is focused on public parking lots. This includes any facility owned by the municipality which
has surface parking spaces that
are used by the public, such as municipal centers, parks and recreation
areas, and public parking lots. These were identified using parcel ownership and land use codes as
identified in the data provided by the assessor of each municipality. The number of spaces in each lot
was identified though aerial photographs
or site visits.2 Public Works departments and firehouses were
not included as part of this analysis; however, future planning efforts could include these facilities.
In addition, the methodology outlined below could be applied to private facilities as well. Many
companies are choosing to locate Type II charging stations within their parking lots. This
can be a
favorable service for existing customers as well as an amenity which may attract a new customer base.
1 All data regarding electric vehicle ownership provided by NYSERDA 2 Some parking areas are unpaved or lack discernible pavement striping; the number of spaces in these lots was
estimated.
2
Methodology
The methodology for this project was driven by the availability of data and the goal of providing an
analysis useful to local municipalities. Since Type II charging stations require a few hours to charge a
vehicle, it was determined that duration of parking was the most important factor.
A 1/4 mile radius was
drawn around each parking area. This is equivalent to approximately a 5‐minute walk, a distance often
used in planning analyses as the maximum desirable walking distance. Within the radius of each parking
area, the potential for long‐ duration parking was tabulated using the following
statistics:
Employment‐based activities. This data, supplied by NYSDOT through InfoGroup, includes
statistics on all businesses with more than 10 full‐time employees. (Note: Glens Falls Hospital
was excluded from the analysis because the facility already houses two on‐site charging
stations.) Two types of data were tracked:
o Number
of businesses with more than 10 employees. Many small businesses have
limited parking facilities dedicated for employees (if any). Providing charging stations in
areas with a high density of businesses could increase the likelihood that the charging
stations will be used.
o Number of employees. This statistic allows the municipality
to determine how many
people are employed at the businesses listed above.
Tourism/Lifestyle‐based activities. This data was provided by land use codes assigned by the
assessor.
o Long‐duration uses. These include any uses where the visit duration for an activity could
reasonably average 2 or more hours. This
includes theaters and other entertainment
venues, convention centers, active recreation areas, libraries, municipal centers and
courts, park‐and‐ride lots, and religious uses.
o Medium‐duration uses. These include activities which are not of long duration, but
could be combined with similar activities to add up to several hours. For
example,
shopping in a downtown and then eating lunch, or attending a medical appointment
and going to the post office. Uses include retail stores, restaurants, medical offices,
offices, post offices, passive recreation areas, playgrounds, and cemeteries.
Proximity to transit. The number of GGFT transit service lines was tabulated, to allow
for
multimodal activity.
3
Analysis Results
Parking Facility Location # of
spaces
# of
transit
routes
Businesses
with 10+
jobs
# of
employees
Long
duration
uses
Medium
duration
uses
Glens Falls
East Field 65 Haskell Ave 345216519 28
YMCA Fire Road 15524223 45
Elm St. Parking Lot 214 Glen St 12511521161 884
South Street Parking
Pavilion 25‐33 South St 113931777 751
Crandall Park 576 Glen St 7036245 410
Ice Rink Fire Road 5423208 43
Haviland’s Cove Bush St 501150 10
Parking lot 34‐38 Warren St 241235673 660
City Hall Parking Lot 38 Ridge St 241140982 773
Exchange Alley 1 Hudson Ave 191150948 574
Lake George (Town and Village)
Beach Road (DEC) Beach Road 4653110 44
Beach Road (Village) Beach Road 96317427 533
Charles A Wood
Park West Brook Rd 9034215 615
Recreation Center Dump Rd. 80000 10
Municipal Offices 20 Old Post Rd 7219284 26
Parking Lot Ottawa St. 28320336 842
Parking Area Amherst St. 27324601 737
Usher park NYS 9L & Racawana
Rd 203225 43
Moreau
Municipal Park Route 32 & Bluebird 360000 11
Municipal Center Route 197 50000 11
Cooper’s Cave park River & First street 4718482 016
Fort Edward (Town and Village)
County Offices 383 Broadway 4601191242 215
Town/Village Offices 118 Broadway 4518445 526
Roger’s Island Visitor
Center 11 Roger’s Island Dr. 30000 10
Yacht Basin Satterlee Ln 2515390 220
Bradley Beach 25 Bradley Ave 1014375 415
Mullen Park Factory & Wing 614324 42
4
Parking Facility Location # of
spaces
# of
transit
routes
Businesses
with 10+
jobs
# of
employees
Long
duration
uses
Medium
duration
uses
Hudson Falls/Kingsbury
Town hall Center St & Route 4 65112433 645
Library/Village Hall Clark & Locust 62112437 639
St. Mary’s Church Wall St 16*111423 640
Queensbury
County Offices 1340 State Route 9 7302281071 39
Ridge Jenkinsville
Park 133 Jenkinsville Rd 277000 01
Town Hall 742 Bay Road 19026220 29
Airport 443 Queensbury Ave 1000584 13
Gurney Lane Park 118 Gurney Ln 10001101 13
Town Court 81 Glenwood Ave 50319615 240
Park & Ride Media Drive 3915403 210
Bike Trail Parking Country Club Road 3025132 19
Hudson River park Big Boom Rd 28000 01
Hovey Pond 21 Lafayette St 25428576 138
Park & Ride 105 Main St 1019470 212
West End Park Luzerne Rd 813373 23
Hudson Pointe
trailhead Hudson Pointe Blvd 5000 10
*58 spaces including St. Mary’s parking area
5
Using the Analysis
Each community may have a different goal for promoting the
use of electric vehicles, so a variety of data has been
provided. For example, a community could promote business
development by using the employment‐based data to
identify potential locations for charging stations. Similarly,
municipalities with
a tourist‐based economy could use the
long‐ and medium‐duration activities as the deciding factor,
so that the charging stations are more useful for visitors.
In addition to the tabular analysis, there are other
considerations for the location of a charging station. These
include:
Visibility
. Consider locating charging stations in
spaces which are highly visible from major streets,
rather than those located behind buildings or at the
end of long driveways. This will raise awareness of
the station and increase usage. If low‐visibility spaces
are determined to be a high priority, consider adding
directional
signage.
Parking Restrictions
. Some parking areas have time
restrictions or are fee‐based. Consider locating
charging stations in areas with minimal restrictions,
to promote usage.
Pavement/Parking Infrastructure
. Several of the
parking areas included in this analysis are unmarked
or the pavement stripes have deteriorated.
Installation of a charging station may necessitate re‐
paving or re‐striping these facilities, as well as
improvements to accommodate the requirements of
the Americans with Disabilities act. In addition, there
are recommended
design guidelines for dimension,
signage, striping, and access of charging stations. See
Siting And Design Guidelines For Electric Vehicle
Supply Equipment for more information.
Electrical Infrastructure
. Not all of the parking areas
included in this analysis have the necessary electrical
infrastructure in place to facilitate installation. See
sidebar for more information.
CONNECTION TO POWER
“When installing EVSE or EVSE‐ready
wiring, a dedicated circuit may be
required or optimal. This can be
added to an existing panel, or planned
for in new construction. Dedicated
circuits may require a new conduit, in
addition to the conduit running from
the panel to the EVSE’s
location. Costs
rise as cable length increases due to
the installation costs of construction
and trenching. Experienced installers
recommend not exceeding 25 feet of
conduit from panel to EVSE site, but
this will vary widely.
Most facilities have accessible 120V
circuits sufficient to power level 1
EVSE. Level 2 charging
requires 208‐
240 volts and at least 15‐30 amps.
Many jurisdictions require or
recommend a dedicated branch circuit
for level 2 charging. The existing
electrical panel in most installations,
especially older structures
constructed prior to 1960, will not
have the system capacity to handle
large and continuous loads. While
level
2 EVSE is similar to other
household appliances like clothes
dryers, the continuous nature of the
load may be a burden on the system.
Installation of dedicated branch
circuits/new panels may reduce safety
risk and assist with peak load
management in scenarios with
multiple charging vehicles.”
Source: “Siting And Design
Guidelines
For Electric Vehicle Supply
Equipment”, November 2012
6
Additional Resources
For more information on funding, siting, and installing charging stations, please see the following links.
In addition, A/GFTC has additional resources available upon request.
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA):
http://www.nyserda.ny.gov/Energy‐Innovation‐and‐Business‐Development/Research‐and‐
Development/Transportation.aspx
Northeast Electric Vehicle Network, Guidance Documents including EV‐Ready Codes, Guide to Planning
and Policy Tools, and Siting and Design Guidelines: http://www.northeastEVs.org
Transportation & Climate Initiative, Siting and Design Guidelines for Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment:
http://www.transportationandclimate.org/sites/default/files/EV_Siting_and_Design_Guidelines.pdf
“Ready, Set, Charge: A Guide to EV Ready Communities”:
http://www.rmi.org/Content/Files/Readysetcharge.pdf