swengl
Member
I've been to the JANAF SuperCharger a few times now and I have never felt like I was in danger/in a dangerous neighborhood. There's actually some pretty good restaurants within walking distance 
-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Supercharger - Norfolk, VA
- Thread starter LetsGoFast
- Start date
There should be a lot of destination charging in and around VB instead of Supercharging to support most the the travel in and around that area. And that is coming... slowly, but coming. The point is that you could drive around on the southern route and Supercharge west of the tunnel. Again, with enough destination charging, you would have the extra 7-10 kWh to handle the air conditioning for the traffic, and likely you'd want to take a bathroom break after the tunnel anyways.
For the first and only one, I'd have chosen a nice area west of the tunnel. Then blanketed HPWC/J1772 at hotels, shopping centers, convention centers, etc. Then put this location in after the new mall is in place, or choose a southern approach.
ModelNforNerd
Active Member
In Tesla's defense, the outlet mall project didn't gain approval until after the SC was built out. Considering how much charging infrastructure was there (almost none), they filled an immediate need.
There are a few Destination Chargers near the strip, and one at the Commodore in Portsmouth, as well as the Chademos at the Nissan dealer on Military Highway, and the Scope and Macarthur Mall parking garages.
It's not ideal, but it's in a much better place than it was about a year ago.
swengl
Member
I've used the one at the Commodore a few times now (there are actually 2 HPWCs there). The owner is a Tesla owner and very friendly/helpful. Historic Portsmouth is nice and there are some good options for hotels/dining close to the Commodore.
@ModelNforNerd Its funny you mention the gas station thing. When I was in school in NJ I worked horrible hours as a bar back and at a deli. I often ended up stopping for gas in the middle of the night. I got robbed twice in a 9 month period. Once in Paramus and once in Newark. They took my money and the gas pump attendants which was usually quite a bit more than I had as a broke college student.
ModelNforNerd
Active Member
Old Towne Portsmouth has definitely undergone an image change since I first arrived in Norfolk in 1996. And in the last 7 years or so, so has JANAF. In the past, it might have been fair to lump JANAF in with Military Circle Mall....but not so much anymore. JANAF has expanded and thrived, whereas the mall went bankrupt thanks in part to the recession (and their inability to combat crime in the mall).
Part of JANAF's revitalization effort is this Supercharger. From all I've heard, it's regularly patrolled by both the private security company they've hired, and Norfolk PD.
When I get my Model 3, I'll have no problem using it when I go down to visit friends.
Survey sample size of 2 here, but I've not experienced any kind of issue at JANAF charger. Once walked to Hooters; once walked to Qdoba. No, there's no French Laundry in the shopping center but that's kind of par for the course with the centers Tesla chooses for its chargers. I prefer the choices at JANAF vs. the ones on the NC supercharger list on I-95 (two low end steak houses- yuck).
JANAF does look run down. It would definitely benefit from a facelift. But I don't think it's any more dangerous than the Plymouth NC location (I think that's the one behind the Wendy's and shady gas station) or Santee, SC location (super busy road with tons of traffic).
As mentioned before you can find crime everywhere if you want to look for it. Same for sex offenders. Tesla could have picked much worse locations in Norfolk.
JANAF does look run down. It would definitely benefit from a facelift. But I don't think it's any more dangerous than the Plymouth NC location (I think that's the one behind the Wendy's and shady gas station) or Santee, SC location (super busy road with tons of traffic).
As mentioned before you can find crime everywhere if you want to look for it. Same for sex offenders. Tesla could have picked much worse locations in Norfolk.
Make it 3. No issues charging here, albeit not at 2:00AM like I've charged elsewhere. The SC has good visibility and the retail/food offerings are decent.
Demographic makeup? What do you mean?
Was there today. Notice a crows nest in the tree next to the chargers. Wonder if that will also provoke a defensive response. The crime stats for the location are solid. People should be aware. I'm not worried about my safety. Given the number of wars I've survived, I'll manage. Surprised there would be controversy that is persistent. Odd. And lots of misplaced assumptions apparently.
Attachments
ModelNforNerd
Active Member
Your opinion doesn't seem to be shared by others who've used the Supercharger.
Odd indeed.
And how many wars have you survived? I mean.....the war on terror is technically only one....conflict, being fought in various theaters.
If you're talking about WW2 and Korea, bless you sir, and your children should maybe talk about an appropriate time to take your keys.
Not sure what you comments have to do with the charger but the comments do remind me of angry internet people. Hahaha. Enjoy your day. Try not to get too worked up when people disagree with you, amigo.
Try not to get too worked up when people disagree with you, amigo.
ModelNforNerd
Active Member
Pretty ironic, since you were the one who went out of your way to look up sex offender stats, etc etc for the area around the charger.
Did you charge there?
Did it work?
Were you accosted or your existence even acknowledged?
Then why bother posting what you did? Just say you weren't a huge fan of the area, and move on....but you proceeded to tell us how dangerous the location was...but not to worry about you because "you've survived multiple wars".....if I remind you of "angry internet guy", your comments came off as a little bit of this guy.....
(also, end of our little back and forth here. thanks for playing)
So to sum up, there was a murder in the adjacent parking lot about two months ago and about five registered sex offenders living within walking distance of the charger. That's hard data, not anecdotal experiences and unsupported supposition. There is an elevated amount of violent and property crime in that strip mall, according to local crime statistics, which is a stark contrast to Glen Allen and Newark, DE, for example. The crows nest next to the charger is interesting as well. I watched crows and gulls fight over food in front of my ride while I charged. Hope the Norfolk location is an interim step to a better location. I'd like to see certain businesses partner with Tesla for supercharger locations and I hear one chain restaurant and a major retail department store may be moving in that direction.
Last edited:
GlmnAlyAirCar
Active Member
I think you will find comparable statistics in nearly any suburban/urban location
The murder was hardly "in an adjacent parking lot." It was on the other side of both Military Highway and Virginia Beach Boulevard (both very large divided 6 lane roads and even then at the Poplar Hall Drive intersection. Google says that is a mile away and more than a 17 minute walk.
I also find five registered sex offenders living within a mile of the Glen Allen supercharger. I'm pretty sure sex offenders living nearby is more of a proxy for residential areas than danger.
In any event, I've been there a number of times at random hours and never felt unsafe in the slightest. Crows always like me.
There was a kid murdered almost exactly the same distance from Woodbridge too:
23-year-old shot, killed as Woodbridge nightclub closed
Food is better at Potomac Mills, though.
23-year-old shot, killed as Woodbridge nightclub closed
Food is better at Potomac Mills, though.
rhumbliner
Member
Make it 4. We charged around high noon so the place was busy and lots of businesses open. I might be a little uneasy at 2am but I might say the same for most any SC.
And if you drove from Wyoming, you have lots more experience with SCs than I do! What an awesome drive that must be
And I agree - I've been to Norfolk SC 2x - one mid-day (to meet Tesla RoadTrip team) and once in the morning (with my niece and nephew en route to OBX), and I felt perfectly safe then, but would probably not want to stop by (there or any mall) in the 11pm-5am timeframe - although I have done that at Bethesda, and have to say that did make me feel a bit uncomfortable (although it is in a fairly affluent area - they've still had some issues as well).
Similar threads
