Geniuses at work in the city

[Kaivball]

There are two charger point stations near a hotel in Newark, now called "A Loft" (formerly W hotel).

Each station has two charging bays.

The city determined it needed more handicap parking for the hotel and turned one charging bay into a handicap parking spot.

Brilliant.

Now you must have a handicap placard AND an EV to park there...

PS: yes, that's my car

 

[inottawa]

Would there be room on the opposite side of your car if you were to back in? I think I see a shrub in your pic, so I'm guessing no.

That sucks.

 

[Kaivball]

Would there be room on the opposite side of your car if you were to back in? I think I see a shrub in your pic, so I'm guessing no.

That sucks.

To the right of my car is the other charge point station with two bays.

The spots are not even near the main entrance and not visible from the road.

We are discussing if one of us should just chance it and see what happens...

 

[carrerascott]

Black spray can, hacksaw. No more handicapped parking space. Put it somewhere else...jeez!

To the right of my car is the other charge point station with two bays.

The spots are not even near the main entrance and not visible from the road.

We are discussing if one of us should just chance it and see what happens...

 

[Dave EV]

Is there another station that is already ADA accessible? If not, there are laws on the books that require that at least one EVSE at a location be accessible from an ADA spot if an EVSE is installed.

Edit: Yep, looking at the location on PlugShare that appears to be the case. Too bad they are so close to the entrance, that makes them very likely to be ICEd, but unfortunately installing them farther away is much more expensive. Here's the location on Google Maps.

 

[Kaivball]

Is there another station that is already ADA accessible? If not, there are laws on the books that require that at least one EVSE at a location be accessible from an ADA spot if an EVSE is installed.

There are 10 total handicap spots.

They just recently "created"/painted them.

The tenth is now taking one of the 4 charge point bays. Charge point has been there at least two years.

So ADA demands that even EV spot must have dedicated handicap spots?

I have never seen that before.

 

[Dave EV]

So ADA demands that even EV spot must have dedicated handicap spots?

I have never seen that before.

From the EV Project:
http://www.theevproject.com/downloads/documents/EV%20Project%20-%20Accessibility%20at%20Public%20EV%20Charging%20Locations%20(97).pdf

Section 2.1:

Generally, agencies or companies that build new facilities or alter existing facilities must comply
with the ADA Standards for Accessible Design. The ADA also requires that all state and local
government programs and services and all goods and services offered to the public by
businesses are accessible to people with disabilities.
The Federal ADA requirements as well as state and local disability laws require services
provided to the public by business and government to be offered equally to persons with
disabilities. Because Level 2 commercial charging stations and DCFC stations deployed under
the EV Project are a service offered to the public, they must be manufactured and installed to
meet the accessibility requirements of federal, state and local laws.

From your utility PG&E:
http://www.pge.com/includes/docs/pdfs/shared/environment/pge/cleanair/ev5pt3.pdf

Section H:

ADA Compliance: Connector and receptacle heights, special curb cutouts, and disabled parking access are some of the measures that may be necessary to make a charging station fully accessible for the disabled. Each operator must assess their compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as state and company policies regarding disabled access.
The State of California’s Division of the State Architect has issued “Interim Disabled Access Guidelines for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations” (Policy #97-03). EV charging stations are required to be accessible because they offer a service to the general public. When EV charging is coupled with regular parking, the EV charging is considered the primary service. The following table should be used in determining the required number of accessible chargers:

Number of Chargers Provided at a Site / Number of Accessible Charger Spaces Required

 1 to  25 / 1
26 to  50 / 2
51 to  75 / 3
76 to 100 / 4

 

[dflye]

When EV charging is coupled with regular parking, the EV charging is considered the primary service.

So is that saying that the requirement is merely ensuring a subset of the EV charging spots are accessible, are still available on a first-come / first-served basis, and those without a handicap pass / plate aren't going to get a ticket when charging there?

 

[jomo25]

It isn't global, but in some municipalities, there are requirements. For example, in my city, if you install a charge station in a public lot, then you must install at least one that is ADA accessible. Ecotality worked with that by either:
1. Installing a single charger in a spot adjacent to both a regular and ADA space that can be accessed by either spot.
2. Installing multiple chargers, one not ADA accessible and the other ADA accessible.

 

[Kaivball]

What's the definition of "accessible"?

Specifically reserved and marked for cars with handicap placards or special lowered ramps and curbs?

 

[jomo25]

What's the definition of "accessible"?

Specifically reserved and marked for cars with handicap placards or special lowered ramps and curbs?

In my city's case it means: pluggable from an ADA marked space and it has to be placed in a manner that a usable by a wheelchair bound person (e.g. lowered height pedestal).

 

[radinator]

in my case at work, we have the same arrangement of one of the charging spots being handicap accessible. But in our setup, it is first come/first served. Not sure if that is the general rule of thumb everywhere else based on the legislation/building codes.

 

[doug]

Fixed thread title from Genius' to Geniuses.

 

[Kaivball]

Fixed thread title from Genius' to Geniuses.

Thanks. English is not my first language...