City of Cambridge Participatory Budgeting

Charging into the Future

Committee: Streetsmarts/Environment

Total Cost: $100,000

Locations: Cambridge Municipal Lots and Utility Poles

Short Description:

Let us help Cambridge drive and ride into the future with new publicly accessible electric car, bike, and scooter charging stations. Pole-mounted stations make on-street charging a reality, benefiting those who do not have dedicated driveways.

Long Description:

Fewer emissions, enhanced air quality, and reduced noise pollution are just a few of the benefits that electric vehicles offer. Electric vehicles (EV) are growing in popularity across Massachusetts, but one of the barriers to greater EV adoption in the state is the lack of publicly accessible charging facilities. It is projected that there will be 4,000 EVs registered in Cambridge by 2030 and charging facilities must match that demand. The city currently owns four electric vehicle charging stations and they tend to be busy at every hour of the day. The addition of new Level 2 electric vehicle charging stations, which can add around 25 range miles in an hour, would allow more residents to charge their vehicles during the day or night.

Not only would these charging stations charge electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, but they could also play a role in providing charging opportunities for electric motorcycles, bikes, and scooters. Let’s start charging into a future with cleaner air!

(Source: energy.gov)

on-street charging, accomplished using retrofitted streetlights (source: FastCompany)