Supercharger - Arlington, WA
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It leaves roughly every 50 minutes for 17-18 hours per day. I believe the crossing takes 30 minutes so on average the ferry process would take about an hour, possibly less if you plan according to the schedule. It saves 81 miles of driving, much of which is through the teeth of Seattle-Tacoma traffic. And of course driving less miles will also save you charging time, not to mention wear and tear on the car.
goneskiian
Active Member
I stopped by this morning. The concrete pad that was empty now has a transformer on it and it was humming. The bollards have not been numbered yet though and electricity is not yet flowing to the cables. Also the typical parking bumpers have not been installed. So it looks like we are possibly waiting on the bumpers and definitely waiting on the superchargers to be tested and numbered.
snort
Member
I'm a little mystified by this choice. It helps a bit with the long haul between Burlington and Centralia, which might be too far if you get stuck in city traffic, but it's still too far from Arlington to make it to Ellensburg.
I'm guessing the casino must have made a very sweet offer, hoping to get a few Tesla drivers inside the door while they wait.
It also may help with the increasing crowding at Burlington, but I think Centralia and Ellensburg are both much more pressing on that score.
Maybe they've noticed that Washington state is far behind anywhere else with a comparable population of Teslas.
Although I think this was a poor prioritization, if the casino is the answer, it's promising for what's to come: more and more places will realize having a high speed charger in their parking lot is good for business and costs them very little in comparison to the business it can bring. If you're listening, Tesla, think about Emerald Queen, in Tacoma or the new one in La Center (near Longview)
(For some reason, I've needed to stop at the rest area at 7 feathers just south of Roseburg, OR, every single time I've been through there.
-Snortybartfast
I'm guessing the casino must have made a very sweet offer, hoping to get a few Tesla drivers inside the door while they wait.
It also may help with the increasing crowding at Burlington, but I think Centralia and Ellensburg are both much more pressing on that score.
Maybe they've noticed that Washington state is far behind anywhere else with a comparable population of Teslas.
Although I think this was a poor prioritization, if the casino is the answer, it's promising for what's to come: more and more places will realize having a high speed charger in their parking lot is good for business and costs them very little in comparison to the business it can bring. If you're listening, Tesla, think about Emerald Queen, in Tacoma or the new one in La Center (near Longview)
(For some reason, I've needed to stop at the rest area at 7 feathers just south of Roseburg, OR, every single time I've been through there.
-Snortybartfast
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BerTX
Supporting Member
wdolson
Well-Known Member
They must be building all their new facilities with over capacity to start. I would expect Arlington to have a lighter load than Centralia. There is a fair bit of traffic between Vancouver, BC and Seattle, but I believe the section of I-5 from Everett to the border is the lightest loaded section of I-5. There is only one major city destination north on I-5 from Seattle and it crosses an international border, but there are 5 major metro areas to the south in the US, near or on I-5.
They have plans to either build another SC in Centralia or expand the existing one, so that area will probably have at least as many stalls by the end of this year. If they built 16 stalls in Arlington, Centralia might be even bigger.
I'm not being critical, I find this indicative of Tesla's supercharger thinking right now. If the Model 3 does take off like it might, we might be seeing SC facilities like this all over the place in a few years. It seems like overkill right now, but it will probably be overcrowded in two years.
They have plans to either build another SC in Centralia or expand the existing one, so that area will probably have at least as many stalls by the end of this year. If they built 16 stalls in Arlington, Centralia might be even bigger.
I'm not being critical, I find this indicative of Tesla's supercharger thinking right now. If the Model 3 does take off like it might, we might be seeing SC facilities like this all over the place in a few years. It seems like overkill right now, but it will probably be overcrowded in two years.
Oh man, I'm heading up to Whistle, BC this Sunday and really hope this opens by then. Otherwise it could be like the Tri Cities where it was closed when I went up to Montana but open by the time I returned home.
Yay.
OK, now just need Sacramento, CA to split Manteca to Corning to reduce the max I-5 gap to 138 miles so I can turn it green on my spreadsheet.
ohmman
Plaid-ish Moderator
wdolson
Well-Known Member
Sacramento will be great. Going from Morro Bay home last year I charged in Atascadero, then Harris Ranch, then Manteca, Corning, and topped off in Mt Shasta. Gustine is much more efficient for that route than Harris Ranch, but until the Sacramento one is open, I would still need to use Manteca, and that's a 20 minute detour to get to. Sacramento would also allow skipping Corning, which has poor facilities. There used to be a Quznos and another restaurant in the close by strip mall, but I think the strip mall was completely vacant when I was there. The only food options are a Little Caesar's take out across the street and Burger King about a block away.
I like the Mt Shasta SC, it's in the parking lot of a nice Best Western.
I also wish they'd put in a supercharger in Roseburg, OR. With Sacramento in place, I could make it from home to Morro Bay with 5 super charger stops. Last fall it was 7, Gustine reduces it to six. Sacramento won't reduce the number of stops, but will likely be more efficient than Manteca. Manteca is the worst located supercharger I've been to so far, though I did have a nice talk with the Tesla tech there. He was moving to Vancouver, WA to service NW superchargers in a few weeks (before the beginning of this year).
I agree about Roseburg, OR. After Sacramento, CA is built, Grants Pass, OR to Springfield, OR will be the biggest remaining gap on I-5. The large drop from Mt Shasta, CA to Roseburg, OR would allow people to skip Grants Pass, OR northbound in good weather, helping to speed up travel.
wdolson
Well-Known Member
I live on the north side of Portland and Grants Pass is around 280 miles from here with a bit of a climb at the end. You just can't quite get there with a 90D, but Roseburg would be just about perfect range from here.
There's a Starbucks right next to the Corning supercharger. There's also a pizza place a couple blocks away. And you can use the bathroom at the Best Western 24/7. Definitely not the worst facilities I've encountered while supercharging
wdolson
Well-Known Member
There's a Starbucks right next to the Corning supercharger. There's also a pizza place a couple blocks away. And you can use the bathroom at the Best Western 24/7. Definitely not the worst facilities I've encountered while supercharging
There may be a Starbuck's. Living in the Northwest and not drinking coffee (I prefer tea), I tend to not see Starbuck's. I didn't find the pizza place, I didn't have that long a charge there and I wanted to grab something quick and get back on the road.
ohmman
Plaid-ish Moderator
Corning is pretty bad. The Olive Pit has some fans and it's definitely cleaner than the alternatives.
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