In this picture, there are two spaces in front of the Clipper Creek pedestal that have handicap signage on the wall and blue curbs, but do not have the big blue wheelchair symbol painted on the asphalt. I'm just asking for things to be consistent. ADA compliance also requires proper placement of the signs.
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Supercharger - Los Gatos (expanded Jun 2021, 20 Urban stalls)
- Thread starter JoelH
- Start date
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- California Supercharging USA
Yes that is correct I was nearly full when I tried. Another Model X pulled up next to me and I asked what rate he was charging at 72 to 74 KWH. I couldn’t see his screen to confirm but I believe he said he was getting 100MPH rate.
One thing I would like to bring up again that others have talked about is the steep ramp when entering through Starbucks to access the chargers. I have personally bottomed out in an S driving very slowly on the low suspension setting. (Not sure with the suspension on high since I didn’t want to repeat). My angle of attack was not good and there really is not much space to enter sideways. I’m not brave enough to repeat again to see if I can make it in a 3. There are 4 ways to enter that I have tried with no problems. The easiest is the one off of HWY 9, next is the front entrance of Safeway, the side entrance of Safeway for the delivery trucks on Andrews St and lastly entering the Chase Bank and using the pass through into the back parking lot. Picture below of the ramp with battle scars! Having said that I did watch the Model X that was charging next to me go over it with no problem! It was great having a conversion with him about Tesla he is very knowledgeable and does frequent TMC.
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Ulmo
Active Member
@BlueShift, it’s open.
I’ll annotate a map; if anyone disagrees or has better info, feel free to edit or redo it.
The blue ones seem best. The yellow one from Santa Cruz Ave is tolerable, but gets very backed up and almost no room in the lane, so not recommended. The yellow one U-turning from Hwy 9 from Saratoga is bad because it’s a U-turn and two lights instead of one. The red X is the hard entrance into Starbucks not to take.
Ignore the big blue triangle near the SuperChargers; my mapping app insisted on marking where I was at while screenshotting.
My favorite ways to enter are from Hwy 9 right turn (coming from Hwy 17), and behind Safeway off Andrews Street nearly across from Industrial Way (if coming from Campbell; someone with a low Model S or 3 let us know if those bumps are ok). Also, the entrance off Santa Cruz Ave after passing Chase Bank into Coldwell Banker (if coming from downtown Los Gatos or Saratoga) is wide enough to take at a diagonal angle provided there aren’t cars coming out; I don’t know if it is high enough for Model S.
I’ll annotate a map; if anyone disagrees or has better info, feel free to edit or redo it.
The blue ones seem best. The yellow one from Santa Cruz Ave is tolerable, but gets very backed up and almost no room in the lane, so not recommended. The yellow one U-turning from Hwy 9 from Saratoga is bad because it’s a U-turn and two lights instead of one. The red X is the hard entrance into Starbucks not to take.
Ignore the big blue triangle near the SuperChargers; my mapping app insisted on marking where I was at while screenshotting.
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HandleX
Member
It finally popped up on the nav this morning. Last night, when I first charged, it was still not on the map and there was only one other Tesla during prime time early evening dinner hours.
I got max 61KW starting at 30% on the far south charger.
Stopped by again this morning and got 72K starting at 54%, so it seems the far south charger may not be at full strength. Of course I can't really single it out since I didn't switch to another charger last night to see if the rate went up.
There was also just one other Tesla this morning even though it's on the map.
Surprised given how many commute from santa cruz but I suspect almost everyone who owns a tesla in santa cruz is NOT in an apartment and probably charges at home and at work.
Eventually, though, all the thousands of locals in Los Gatos who live there and park their Tesla's on the street in front of their multi million dollar garageless 100 year old houses will get a clue and it will be slammed
I got max 61KW starting at 30% on the far south charger.
Stopped by again this morning and got 72K starting at 54%, so it seems the far south charger may not be at full strength. Of course I can't really single it out since I didn't switch to another charger last night to see if the rate went up.
There was also just one other Tesla this morning even though it's on the map.
Surprised given how many commute from santa cruz but I suspect almost everyone who owns a tesla in santa cruz is NOT in an apartment and probably charges at home and at work.
Eventually, though, all the thousands of locals in Los Gatos who live there and park their Tesla's on the street in front of their multi million dollar garageless 100 year old houses will get a clue and it will be slammed
You need to wait till it's on the map for a couple weeks to get an idea for what the usage will be like going forward.It finally popped up on the nav this morning. Last night, when I first charged, it was still not on the map and there was only one other Tesla during prime time early evening dinner hours.
I got max 61KW starting at 30% on the far south charger.
Stopped by again this morning and got 72K starting at 54%, so it seems the far south charger may not be at full strength. Of course I can't really single it out since I didn't switch to another charger last night to see if the rate went up.
There was also just one other Tesla this morning even though it's on the map.
Surprised given how many commute from santa cruz but I suspect almost everyone who owns a tesla in santa cruz is NOT in an apartment and probably charges at home and at work.
Eventually, though, all the thousands of locals in Los Gatos who live there and park their Tesla's on the street in front of their multi million dollar garageless 100 year old houses will get a clue and it will be slammed
Guess I'd better get over there soon to get it on my list...if I do a ninja-style run over there in the dead of night I wonder if I can avoid a line?
Bruce.
Bet TSLA
Active Member
Charged there today just to say I had. Not very busy in the mid-afternoon. Directions from the freeway aren't very good, but good enough. Found a nearby yogurt place with Lappert's ice cream, and I see there are two Starbucks within an easy walk, and a couple of cafes, and a moderately fancy restaurant or two. So it seems all is good for basic food except for late at night.
Showed up on map after overnight “supercharger” update (some message on screen saying you can now see all superchargers). Awesome location. Arrived at 5pm weekday today and only one other car charging (Model 3). Quickly filled up by 6pm. Confirmed max charging rate 72 kW. There are Clipper Creek stations intermingled with the supercharging stations (for example, serving the empty spot next to me in photo below), all unused. Thanks to posts above, avoided the death ramp behind Starbucks, and @Ulmo’s directions are spot on. The routing on Tesla nav for this station is horrible. I know this lot well and it was my favorite parking when downtown LG gets shut down for events. There are “No parking 3am - 5am daily” signs behind all the superchargers, which is odd since the supercharger hours are advertised as 24/7. And most important of all — confirmed the Safeway carts remain unlocked all the way off their lot and to the superchargers.
EVie'sDad
Member
I beat you to it, stopped by about 850pm this evening.
My own thoughts are they located the chargers down a little too far away from the main entrance, making them more difficult to find. Right near that unfortunate ramp behind a cafe where the workers smoked cigarettes out back. Surprisingly lots of non ev cars zipping through this narrow lot. Also encountered a roaming homeless person wandering around the parking lot eyeing the fancy cars, so we choose not to leave the vehicle unoccupied. He wandered past our car at last three separate times.
My advice is only use this location as need be, and preferably during daylight hours. The locals nearby after dark make one feel less confident about leaving a very expensive vehicle charging unattended. Even in Los Gatos. Would like to see stationed security or police on a regular basis to help curb the perceived riffraf.
Ulmo
Active Member
The Safeway is open 24 hours, in case that offers anything anybody would be interested in. I currently get breakfast and often parts of lunch and dinner there every morning before work because currently my job site is in Los Gatos. (I get there between 5AM and 6:30AM every morning, and I'm thinking of coming earlier to avoid more traffic.)
The Walgreens is also open 24 hours, except for the pharmacy (which is 8AM-9PM weekdays, and weekends opening at 9AM Saturday and 10AM Sunday and closing at 6PM both weekend days), but that's across Santa Cruz Avenue, so be careful of all that entails. I get quite a few of my regular Walgreens type items from there. When I used to commute from Palo Alto or beyond, I'd often stop there to take a break or pick up any needed prescriptions, however, the pharmacy line does get 2 or 3 deep sometimes, double or triple that during rush hour.
Don't ever go to that DMV thinking that it would be a better experience. In my experience, it is very busy, full of annoying people (that come from a fairly wide area around there), and takes forever. Instead, just take a stroll downtown, but keep an eye on your charge finish estimate so you have time to get back before it charges late fees, since it is two blocks crossing busy possibly dangerous intersections before downtown shopping starts.
I've never seen it full.
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HandleX
Member
If you want a great sandwich and don't mind a 3 minute walk, go to Los Gatos Meats and Smokehouse on University Ave.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/los-gatos-meats-and-smokehouse-los-gatos
They do get busy during lunch and the sitting is small and outside.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/los-gatos-meats-and-smokehouse-los-gatos
They do get busy during lunch and the sitting is small and outside.
If anyone is a coffee snob and Starbucks doesn’t cut it for you, checkout Manresa Bread. They have good coffee and great pastries. One bad thing is hours are limited and pastries run out quick. Also no indoor seating but still worth the walk to me!
Manresa Bread - Los Gatos, CA
Manresa Bread - Los Gatos, CA
Haxster
Member
Looks like Tesla may have figured out another way to keep people from leaving their cars parked after their charge is complete:
Messy, sappy, bird-inhabited trees.
Messy, sappy, bird-inhabited trees.
HandleX
Member
Thursday 8:30pm Los Gatos has two spots free. Cupertino is only half filled. Probably doesn't matter for the daytime (because of the Apple employees), but Los Gatos is helping.
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