Here’s what Mesa wants to do to address growing electric vehicle charging needs
As electric vehicle ownership rises, Mesa is looking to light the spark on new infrastructure to power those cars.
Nearly 3,200 Mesa residents and more than 40,000 Arizonans drive electric vehicles, according to data from the city. The state also ranks sixth in the nation for the number of electric vehicles driven per 1,000 residents.
Where those EV drivers charge is a growing challenge, so the city is in the early efforts of developing a communitywide electric vehicle adoption master plan.
It’s a two-part effort. It’s also a part of the climate action plan the city updated a year ago.
Part of the plan outlines the city’s efforts to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The city laid out the strategy to build out “transportation networks” such as electric vehicle charging stations.
Now the city is working to see how it will make that happen. The first step included a community survey, which staff will analyze the results over the summer before coming back to the City Council sometime in September with potential actions, said Ian Linssen, a city assistant to the city manager.
That could include updating building codes to mandate a minimum percentage of EV charging parking spots in a development and a plan to add public charging spots throughout the city if the council directs embraces the findings.
Linssen said the city’s goal is to avoid any “unnecessary hurdles” while adding EV charging in new developments.
Mesa will also go after a multimillion-dollar federal grant to help build public EV charging infrastructure.
Researcher says now is the time for cities to act
Pushing forward electric vehicle charging access falls on local government and cities, Kara Kockelman, a professor and researcher at the University of Texas at Austin, told the Arizona Republic.
Kockelman has spent more than a better decade researching electric vehicle usage and transportation issues.
“I think local government should require it in all new homes, multifamily units and remodeling (projects) to add charging access, she said. The federal government can’t require it, so this has to be at the local level, she said. Sites should be primed for EV ownership going forward, she said.
Newly released data from an annual EV driver survey by Plug in America, an electric vehicle nonprofit organization tasked with educating and researching the market, found that ownership from residents in apartment dwellings increased by 6% from the previous year. The group also says it’s important to update building codes “to enable greater adoption of EVs by residents of multi-unit dwellings.”
The driver survey also showed “diminishing driver satisfaction” with the public charging network.
The survey found that “broken chargers are again the leading concern—but the magnitude of concerns overall has increased.” Other issues the survey found were slow charging speeds, locations too far apart and not enough stalls at each location.
Workplace charging was “frequently used by EV owners” on a weekly basis by those who had access to it, the survey found.
Mesa residents want more charging access
Two Mesa residents said the city is lacking in EV charging infrastructure.
Ryan Withrow, a long-time truck owner, was getting tired of the increasing gas prices and decided to switch to a Rivian electric truck to cut gasoline costs. He typically charges at his home using a level 2 charger every two to three days and said it costs him nearly $5 to charge overnight.
The challenge of owning an EV comes with trying to find public charging stalls, he said. “It’s hit or miss” because the stations can be out of service or full with other drivers, Withrow said.
He supports the city’s efforts and hopes to see the city install charging ports in places like downtown Mesa or Mesa Riverview where he can charge. Ideally, he’d like to plug in his car and grab dinner at the same time.
Ric Castillo also wants to see Mesa put charging stations in central Mesa. He rents in central Mesa and doesn’t have the faster charging infrastructure in his home, so he is left having to trickle charge his hybrid. When he lived in a condo, he remembers having to haul out a long extension cord to his parking spot to charge.
When Castillo is looking for a fast-charging option, he often has to go to other East Valley cities. Mesa is underserved in charging stations, Castillo said, adding it’s time for Mesa to modernize, he said.
What Mesa looks to do
While the survey found a large majority of EV owners live in single family homes, Mesa is looking to broaden access for renters and people making trips to the city.
Linssen said it’s relatively easier for single-family homeowners to install EV charging in their garages or carports, but renters may not have that option.
That’s why creating access to charging spots at commercial and multifamily housing is important, so that certain portions of the population aren’t left out, Linssen said.
Mesa will analyze and consider making changes to its charging inventory to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to take advantage of owning electric vehicles.
“We don’t want to be the impediment to make this happened. If the market sees an opportunity, we don’t want” the city’s process to be too burdensome that developers go somewhere else, he said.
The visibility of charging locations is also at top of mind. The hope is that if someone needs to go grocery shopping and charge their car they can do that in Mesa.
Economics is another reason the city is undertaking the challenge. From the assembly of ElectraMeccanica’s three-wheeled cars in Mesa to Nikola Corp’s heavy trucks in Pinal County, Arizona is becoming an electric vehicle manufacturing hub.
City seeks federal money to help
Mesa plans to request a $7 million to $8 million grant from a U.S. Department of Transportation to build public charging stations around town.
Linssen said the city has identified gaps for charging stations in West Mesa where there is a lot of multifamily housing and where “a lot of trips happen.”
He anticipates installing about half a dozen fast level 2 chargers for public use in that area of town if the city is awarded the grant. He also wanted to install larger charging stalls to accommodate local business owners who have a fleet of EVs.
Adding fast charging stations along the U.S. 60 in east Mesa would be an ideal area for residents on that side of the city, but also bring access to people who live in Apache Junction or Queen Creek, he said.
This would help Mesa have a designated alternative fuel corridor within the city limits to open the door to more grant opportunities.