Have you been ICEd?

[scaesare]

It's also possible (perhaps unlikely?) the car was plugged in to start and was unplugged by someone else at some point along the way. Did you happen to look for a note on the windshield for other EVs needing to charge?

Given the "Car End" of the cable locks in to the charging port, wouldn't we still see it dangling there if somebody unplugged the other end?

 

[Trnsl8r]

Given the "Car End" of the cable locks in to the charging port, wouldn't we still see it dangling there if somebody unplugged the other end?

This. And the fact that you would need a pretty damn long extension cord to plug in without being parked in that spot.

 

[sublimaze1]

one solution:

just keep four in the frunk.
(please differentiate humor from suggestions)

 

[ChriZ]

Not a charging station but still. Annoys the hell out of me.

 

[PhilBa]

I had an interesting ICEing experience this weekend. We went up to a local resort (The Salish) at a big waterfall. There was an event and parking was a zoo but they had two chargepoint chargers in the valet lot. Chargepoint app said they weren't in use and the valets said they were open so I drove in only to discover both of them ICEd. The valets were very apologetic and moved one of the cars so I could charge. Talk about service! I tipped them even though they didn't park my car. I was pretty happy anyway because my girl friend had just said yes when I asked her to marry me.

 

[AlMc]

I had an interesting ICEing experience this weekend. We went up to a local resort (The Salish) at a big waterfall. There was an event and parking was a zoo but they had two chargepoint chargers in the valet lot. Chargepoint app said they weren't in use and the valets said they were open so I drove in only to discover both of them ICEd. The valets were very apologetic and moved one of the cars so I could charge. Talk about service! I tipped them even though they didn't park my car. I was pretty happy anyway because my girl friend had just said yes when I asked her to marry me.

Congratulations. Time to get her an S also? Wedding gift from friends?

 

[rolosrevenge]

I had an interesting ICEing experience this weekend. We went up to a local resort (The Salish) at a big waterfall. There was an event and parking was a zoo but they had two chargepoint chargers in the valet lot. Chargepoint app said they weren't in use and the valets said they were open so I drove in only to discover both of them ICEd. The valets were very apologetic and moved one of the cars so I could charge. Talk about service! I tipped them even though they didn't park my car. I was pretty happy anyway because my girl friend had just said yes when I asked her to marry me.

Congrats on the proposal! You should be able to make it from Seattle to Snoqualmie falls and back on a single charge easily, it's only 40 miles each way.

 

[VolkerP]

Congratulations, too. And a wise man first to get a Model S then a wife. :wink:

 

[PhilBa]

Congrats on the proposal! You should be able to make it from Seattle to Snoqualmie falls and back on a single charge easily, it's only 40 miles each way.

True, but it was really the parking I wanted otherwise we'd have to park off site. And, we'd been driving around all day so it was down to about 75 miles left. Still enough to get home, though. The charge was, get this, 30A at 201V for 15 mi/hr.

And here's why I got a keeper. I offered to get her a Tesla and she said, "Oh No, that's too much money". But eventually, we'll be a 2 EV couple.

 

[dsm363]

True, but it was really the parking I wanted otherwise we'd have to park off site. And, we'd been driving around all day so it was down to about 75 miles left. Still enough to get home, though. The charge was, get this, 30A at 201V for 15 mi/hr.

And here's why I got a keeper. I offered to get her a Tesla and she said, "Oh No, that's too much money". But eventually, we'll be a 2 EV couple.

Congrats as well. Snoqualmie Falls is great place too. Glad they worked with you on the charging spot.

 

[SamGarber]

An ICEing in the museum dedicated to the "father of electricity"

Well, there is a first time for everything, and my first public charging started with ICEing. Drove to the Franklin Institute in Philly, where PlugShare showed me 2 EV Chargers in their garage. Now, I am a member, so I had some free parking passes, which is a great deal on "free charging". On arrival, I find that there are 2 chargers with 3 spots where the cords will reach and they are ALL marked as handicapped and nowhere does it say EV charging or anything else. They are also prime spots for museum entry I guess due to their being handicapped. Of course all of them were taken up when I arrived (3 x ICE and 1 x non-plugin Prius) presumably with handicapped-plated vehicles (I was too frustrated and late to exhibition entry time to check):

View attachment 33507
View attachment 33509
View attachment 33508


I had to drive down to the lower level trying to spot any kind of outlet - found a 12A service outlet on the wall and plugged in for the miserly 3mi/hr gain

View attachment 33510

The day improved though when we finished walking through the exhibition (one hour later) and one of the spots freed up and I managed to plug into the 30A Blink charger
View attachment 33511

View attachment 33513

View attachment 33512
I managed to get it back up to 233 by the time we were back to drive home...

I was sort of scared to be ticketed for being parked in a spot ONLY marked handicapped but remembered I don't have a plate yet! I wish they would either mark the spots and/or move or add chargers somewhere out of the way and further to the entrance. I can walk further if it means I am charging! I will write them a letter in hopes of this happening, but I am not holding my breath...

 

[Doug_G]

Can't recommend this hotel!

Well, this ICEing was very annoying and frustrating.

We were in Toronto to visit the in-laws. I called ahead to the Best Western in Scarborough to make sure the EV charger was going to be available. Asked them to put a cone in the spot or something. We arrived at 11:30 pm, with just 49 km remaining (thanks to some 110V charging at our previous stop), only to discover this:

Due to the really lousy location of the charger the cable can only reach one spot - not that the adjacent spots were available anyway. To be fair to the Toyota's owner, there was no signage. This one is really on the hotel.

Honestly, what is the point of paying to install an EV charger at your hotel, only to leave people stranded when they desperately need it???

The front desk seemed to be willing to call the owner's room even at this late hour... except that they couldn't find a record of the plate number. So we were stranded. I cancelled my reservation on the spot. There was no point in staying there when we'd be completely stuck in the morning. Easy way to lose a customer - permanently.

We drove back there again and parked in front of that Toyota, partially blocking the fire lane, plugged in and settled in for an hour and a half nap in the car. We were just lucky that the lousy charger location meant the cable could reach the laneway.

When we had enough range (plus a generous safety margin because the temperature was plummeting) we headed off and drove to the Best Western in Cobourg, arriving there at 2:00 am. We plugged into their charger for the night and collapsed into bed. The next morning the car was totally full, and while we were eating a late breakfast I gave it a solid hour of prewarming (turned it back on when it switched off). The pack and cabin was nice and toasty, so from there we were able to drive directly back to Ottawa.

We were thinking of visiting some friends on the way back, but that went out the window because of this. Otherwise it all worked out okay in the end, although my wife is decidedly less keen on road-tripping with the Model S now.

 

[NoMoGas]

To be clear, I sat at a table in the restaurant that had a view of my car. I have seen a number of handicapped parking spaces that are also charger stations (with the official signage and paint on the pavement). One is at a local college that I am affiliated with and I spoke to the President about it. He believed that it was a dual use space (OR, not AND) but I'm not convinced. The thing that is odd about that space, it is quite far away from the buildings (and across the main road into the college) so one could argue that it fails the accessibility test. One thing I don't understand, where is the controlling law (Federal ADA or State)? If it's Federal, then state legislation could not over ride it.

ADA requires handicapped parking spaces. Local regs require how many per X parking spaces. Making them "dual use" violates both. How would you feel if you plugged in and some veteran in a wheelchair couldn't par his van? Through no fault of your own I understand, but it's nonsense. Here is a problem that you have, many jurisdictions REQUIRE X parking spaces for Y stores so anything that futzes with those numbers creates problems.

 

[Lloyd]

I put my EVSE in the spot next to the handicapped space and the cable will reach both. That way neither are illegal. Make sure your cable is long enough though!!

 

[dhrivnak]

I keep several copies of the following in my car and when I am ICEd I place one on the windshield in an easy to read 16 point font..

Please do not park in the places for electric vehicles. At the moment there are not many places to charge an electric car and many of us early adopters plan our routes on how and where we can charge. If we arrive and all parking spaces are full we could be left stranded.

By having people drive electric vehicles it helps you by helping to keep a lid on the demand and price of gasoline. If demand for gasoline drops then the prices can stabilize, but if we all use more gas we can be sure the prices will continue to rise.

So please help keep these spaces open for those people that need them.

Thank you

 

[purplewalt]

To be clear, I sat at a table in the restaurant that had a view of my car. I have seen a number of handicapped parking spaces that are also charger stations (with the official signage and paint on the pavement). One is at a local college that I am affiliated with and I spoke to the President about it. He believed that it was a dual use space (OR, not AND) but I'm not convinced. The thing that is odd about that space, it is quite far away from the buildings (and across the main road into the college) so one could argue that it fails the accessibility test. One thing I don't understand, where is the controlling law (Federal ADA or State)? If it's Federal, then state legislation could not over ride it.

ADA is a Federal Law, Access to buildings and parking spaces issues guidelines through the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (ATBCB). This is then administered and regulated at the State and local levels.

ADA requires handicapped parking spaces. Local regs require how many per X parking spaces. Making them "dual use" violates both. How would you feel if you plugged in and some veteran in a wheelchair couldn't par his van? Through no fault of your own I understand, but it's nonsense. Here is a problem that you have, many jurisdictions REQUIRE X parking spaces for Y stores so anything that futzes with those numbers creates problems.

Agreed: Parking in any Accessible parking space potentially prohibits a physically disabled person from closer and easier access to a building.
Someone (architect/landlord/ADA Inspector) was being very short-sighted when they decided to combine the two disparate criteria to utilize the SAME parking spaces.
And if all the available parking spaces are full with accessible vehicles and vans, an EV user would have no Option on where to charge.
Sounds like Some Body Missed the Boat, big time.
AND Neither party is being FULLY served.
Oh, and anybody can sue a company/business/facility for redress under ADA.
Some folks do it as a racket, most of the time it is to grant equal access.

 

[Jaff]

That's brutal Doug...perhaps for commercial installations, Sun Country should increase the price of their charge stations and throw in a "free" sign...at least this way, signage would not be optional (and thus not be at the mercy of cheapskate hotel owners...)

 

[mknox]

That's brutal Doug...perhaps for commercial installations, Sun Country should increase the price of their charge stations and throw in a "free" sign...at least this way, signage would not be optional (and thus not be at the mercy of cheapskate hotel owners...)

I think this was an example of poor signage and the Toyota driver didn't even know he was doing anything wrong. I have come across this too, and one time had someone ask me what "those things" were. They had no idea that they were EV charging equipment. Still, the hotel should have held the spot for Doug since he specifically asked.

Having said that, I am starting to sense some resentment out there over EV spots. There is a Sun Country unit at a plaza near me with possibly the best signage in the world. There is a 4-story tall "Free EV Charger" sign above the spot, a regular metal sign at eye level and the spot itself has been painted a special color with EV-Only markings. Further, it is not close to the door and is rather far out into the parking area. Despite this, I'd say 9 times out of 10 that I go by, it's ICE'd! I don't need to use it being so close to home and all, but my town has relatively little public infrastructure and if someone desperately needed the spot, they're likely not to get it. I've mentioned this to a few people, including my wife, and generally get some sort of comment like "too bad... why should you get a reserved spot?" Of course I go in to all the reasons that we here already know, but usually just get blown off.

And as another example of "poor form", I was at the Yorkdale Mall the other day and parked in the $2/hr ChargePoint spots. They are clearly marked for "EVs Only While Charging". When I came out, there was a Leaf backed in next to me. I thought this was odd since the Leaf's charge point is at the front of the car. Sure enough, it was just parked there blocking a spot and not charging. There was a security guy walking nearby, and I was tempted to point it out, but decided to let it go.

 

[GSP]

.... I am starting to sense some resentment out there over EV spots. There is a Sun Country unit at a plaza near me with possibly the best signage in the world. There is a 4-story tall "Free EV Charger" sign above the spot, a regular metal sign at eye level and the spot itself has been painted a special color with EV-Only markings. Further, it is not close to the door and is rather far out into the parking area. Despite this, I'd say 9 times out of 10 that I go by, it's ICE'd! I don't need to use it being so close to home and all, but my town has relatively little public infrastructure and if someone desperately needed the spot, they're likely not to get it. I've mentioned this to a few people, including my wife, and generally get some sort of comment like "too bad... why should you get a reserved spot?" Of course I go in to all the reasons that we here already know, but usually just get blown off....

It constantly amazes me how much non-EV drivers don't understand how frustrating it is not to be able to charge. I try asking how they would feel if all gas pumps were blocked by parked cars, and that does not seem to work either.

GSP

 

[Tyl]

This is the best signage I've seen ....... it needs to be the standard for all EV parking stalls. Everything else I have seen is inadequate! It is very clear and states "All Others will be Towed". Plain and simple!