I'm trying to understand why there is no supercharger station at the Mosaic shopping location in the Fairfax/Merrifield area. For those of you familiar location, you know this would be a no-brainer as there are Teslas parked everywhere here and tons of shopping, restaurants, a movie theater, etc. The nearest superchargers are Springfield and National Harbor, two locations I have no interest in driving to as that would mean getting on the beltway or 95...
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Proposed Supercharger - Mosaic?
- Thread starter Scoobydoo
- Start date
I would argue the Mosaic location would be way more appealing than the 123/29 intersection, from both a consumer and business perspective. Much more likely to draw from constant flow of traffic from the beltway and be highly utilized. I would say no fewer than 20 stalls would be in use, could be a good site for V3
paulkva
part of the supercharge.info dev team
The grey pins on Tesla's map are approximate locations, and the data on supercharge.info is generally crowdsourced from these discussion forums. That particular pin on tesla.com is at 123 and 29 because that's where the map labels "Fairfax." There have been rumors / discussions of superchargers at Fairfax Corner (near Fair Oaks), and someone recently found a supercharger permit for a Wawa at 123 and Nutley St in Vienna (Supercharger - Vienna, VA). I think those are the two closest possibilities as of now.
I agree Mosaic would be an appealing location, probably for urban superchargers since there's so much to do there and it's rather densely populated. I know the Target and Mom's garages are always really busy, and the existing EV charging spots are nearly always full or broken.
Agree that the current parking is crowded. There are two locations I can think of: behind Caboose, which also has inadequate parking, there is another much larger parking area that is gated off. This lot I believe is the same property as the building that houses the dance studio. If the property owners could work out a deal, that parking area would be great for superchargers and would open up more much needed space for Caboose, and also Mosaic.
The other possibility, and this is a trickier question, is using the roof of the Moms supermarket parking garage. If you do a Google earth view, you can see it is almost always vacant, since probably everyone would prefer to park closer to the ground. But it is a huge area, and it gets tons of sun exposure, making it an ideal site for V3. The question is whether superchargers could be place so high above ground level, and the potential extra work this would take.
The other possibility, and this is a trickier question, is using the roof of the Moms supermarket parking garage. If you do a Google earth view, you can see it is almost always vacant, since probably everyone would prefer to park closer to the ground. But it is a huge area, and it gets tons of sun exposure, making it an ideal site for V3. The question is whether superchargers could be place so high above ground level, and the potential extra work this would take.
paulkva
part of the supercharge.info dev team
I would say it's possible to place superchargers high above ground level, because they did so in Arlington VA, but unfortunately those chargers have been somewhat unreliable since they opened. I doubt the problems in Arlington are due to height, but I have no info to confirm or refute.
There are at least 3 other garages in Mosaic: one to the east in the building with Panera & Chipotle, one to the south of the Mom's garage (in the same building as Modera apartments) that I've never used, and one further south near BGR & Nando. But I don't know enough about them to say anything about supercharger feasibility. Maybe I'll do some scouting next time I'm there...
There are at least 3 other garages in Mosaic: one to the east in the building with Panera & Chipotle, one to the south of the Mom's garage (in the same building as Modera apartments) that I've never used, and one further south near BGR & Nando. But I don't know enough about them to say anything about supercharger feasibility. Maybe I'll do some scouting next time I'm there...
V3 sites and meals/shopping don’t really go together. A V3 stop is going to be 15-20 minutes, which is not enough time to do anything in Mosaic (maybe grab a coffee, but that’s about it). Urban Superchargers with their consistent 72 kW charge rate and 40-60 minute charge times are ideal for this type of location.
I know all of those garages. I would say they are generally very poor for charging. The space is very tight and the lighting is poor. Again, the upper levels may be a better option, as I'm sure most ICE drivers would be pissed that the lower levels. would be superchargers only. As an X owner, going up a few more levels is a small price to pay to keep the peace , and perhaps they could widen the spaces and make more room for Teslas.
The rooftop of the Mom's garage would be ideal if they could hang solar panels over the parking
I'm not sure what lighting has to do with charging. I've been in all of those garages and I certainly don't feel unsafe, if that's what you're suggesting. But yeah, this whole area is generally a mad-house with limited parking availability and a lot of traffic.
I mention lighting because people drive like mad in those garages, and if there is limited lighting, well... you can guess what happens. It's like bumper cars in those garages already.
I have never felt unsafe at Mosaic, so I'm not sure where you're coming from with that.
Dim lighting is usually equated with not feeling safe, like people are lurking in the shadows, which is why I asked. You’re right that people drive like maniacs through the garages.
Similar threads
