Google-wise Denton, TX is a significant diversion from the fastest route SE USA to Amarillo, TX and points west. So, really, it is filling a long-distance void.
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Supercharger - Southlake, Texas
- Thread starter ggies07
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Google-wise Denton, TX is a significant diversion from the fastest route SE USA to Amarillo, TX and points west. So, really, it is filling a long-distance void.
bollar
Disgruntled Member
TSchaefer
Owner 2015 Model S P85D & Model 3 AWD LR
Southlake is an excellent location. Any kind of food you want within a half mile, from fine dining to bistro, and pretty much every retail opportunity one could hope for. Plus a nice movie theater! It will be good to have one in NE Tarrant County. Many people coming through there call the local Plug Share contact for a little charge to get them to their destination. This is exciting news and it is great to see the expansion of the Tesla charging network. I remember when Texas was an island.
purplewalt
Active Member
Go Southlake!
Go Wichita Falls!! ...or Vernon!!
I am currently looking for best driving route(s) to NorthWest U.S. for Total Solar Eclipse viewing in Idaho (cloudy weather fall-back viewing location is Western Wyoming).
Thinking I may have resolved the issue with a little bit of "extra-stop charging" using Existing Superchargers Strategy.
After I leave Denton, I plan to drive to Ardmore, get a nice (nearly full) charge while having dinner, then head West to Childress.
While it is still 188 miles (Google Maps), which (driving uphill and against the wind) is no small feat, but easy (probably) does it.
That is 22 real and rugged miles LESS than direct from Denton to Childress.
I made the drive from Childress to Denton in October '16.
And can certify the wind plays havoc with your range, even taking it easy most of the way (not all winds are tailwinds).
A Supercharger in either Wichita Falls or Vernon would be nice, but neither will transpire in the immediate future.
My driving strategy, in order to work around "the East to West void", is to utilize the current Supercharger locations the best way I can.
Go Wichita Falls!! ...or Vernon!!
I am currently looking for best driving route(s) to NorthWest U.S. for Total Solar Eclipse viewing in Idaho (cloudy weather fall-back viewing location is Western Wyoming).
Thinking I may have resolved the issue with a little bit of "extra-stop charging" using Existing Superchargers Strategy.
After I leave Denton, I plan to drive to Ardmore, get a nice (nearly full) charge while having dinner, then head West to Childress.
While it is still 188 miles (Google Maps), which (driving uphill and against the wind) is no small feat, but easy (probably) does it.
That is 22 real and rugged miles LESS than direct from Denton to Childress.
I made the drive from Childress to Denton in October '16.
And can certify the wind plays havoc with your range, even taking it easy most of the way (not all winds are tailwinds).
A Supercharger in either Wichita Falls or Vernon would be nice, but neither will transpire in the immediate future.
My driving strategy, in order to work around "the East to West void", is to utilize the current Supercharger locations the best way I can.
Southlake, TX
Along Interstates: None
Along US Numbered Highways (<=5 mi): None
Along Auxiliary Interstates: None
Neighbors:
Catoosa, OK (TX-114,TX-121/SRT,US-75,US-69,OK-INT,US-75,I-44): 276 miles
Dallas, TX (TX-114,TX-121,I-635,US-75) : 28.2 miles
Arlington, TX (TX-114,TX-121,TX-360,u): 17.6 miles
Childress, TX (TX-114,US-287,I-44,US-287): 221 miles
Denton, TX (TX-114,I-35,u): 26.9 miles
Key value seems to be being on the Google-fastest route from the Southeast to Amarillo, TX and points west.
Along Interstates: None
Along US Numbered Highways (<=5 mi): None
Along Auxiliary Interstates: None
Neighbors:
Catoosa, OK (TX-114,TX-121/SRT,US-75,US-69,OK-INT,US-75,I-44): 276 miles
Dallas, TX (TX-114,TX-121,I-635,US-75) : 28.2 miles
Arlington, TX (TX-114,TX-121,TX-360,u): 17.6 miles
Childress, TX (TX-114,US-287,I-44,US-287): 221 miles
Denton, TX (TX-114,I-35,u): 26.9 miles
Key value seems to be being on the Google-fastest route from the Southeast to Amarillo, TX and points west.
bollar
Disgruntled Member
I'm curious -- how are you choosing the neighbors? Catoosa seems like an outlier compared to some others that are closer and didn't make the list.
[ This isn't a reply to @ItsNotAboutTheMoney ]
Although Southlake is an important Supercharger for the route to Amarillo, I think the key values of these new (sub)urban Superchargers are the amenities that aren't available at rural Superchargers. I drove 4K miles this summer and the Superchargers were primarily at economy hotels and truck stops, plus an occasional outlet mail and Applebees. I would have valued an occasional Supercharger where I could have had my choice at any price point for a meal, an upscale hotel, a grocery store, shopping, parks & recreation, and so on. Southlake is regionally the first like this, and it won't be the last. the Dallas Supercharger at Treehouse will have some of these features and the unknown Supercharger in Plano will likely be the same.
And of course, for the increasing number of people who don't have charging at home, the amenities at Southlake & probably Plano are significantly more varied than Arlington (a hotel down the street, a great view and a nice walking path) and Denton (Walmart, Petco, Cowboy Chicken & JoAnn Fabrics). They're places you could go weekly to get your errands done or even choose between Superchargers as your schedule / needs allow, making an electric car viable for this demographic.
The "Neighbors" are Superchargers where the Google-fastest route from the origin Supercharger to the destination Supercharger is direct, in that:
- there is no nearer Supercharger within a 20 minute and 10 mile diversion of the fastest route
- or the only nearer Superchargers within the 20/10 diversion limit are also within 20 minutes or 10 miles of the origin Supercharger. (This additional rule means that close "pairs" of Superchargers aren't their only neighbors.)
The idea is that in the long term Tesla doesn't just need to enable intercity trips, it needs to make all trips as convenient as possible, no matter where you start or end. At this point, I'm fairly generous with the diversion limits. Ideally, you would expect charging locations the same way you would expect gas stations: just off your route.
If you look at the fastest route from Southlake, TX to Catoosa, OK, it clearly doesn't pass anywhere near another Supercharger.
bollar
Disgruntled Member
bollar
Disgruntled Member
We spent a lovely hour with Southlake's Planning & Zoning commission this evening and had the application deferred because questions relating to landscaping, building materials for the Supercharger enclosure, impact to the neighborhood across Carroll Avenue and other questions related to Supercharger experience couldn't be adequately answered.
The application was tabled to the next regularly scheduled P&Z meeting September 7
A representative from Black & Veatch was on at 12:25. I wound up getting called up at 39:00 ish.
August 17, 2017 Planning and Zoning Commission - Southlake, TX Item 9
The application was tabled to the next regularly scheduled P&Z meeting September 7
A representative from Black & Veatch was on at 12:25. I wound up getting called up at 39:00 ish.
August 17, 2017 Planning and Zoning Commission - Southlake, TX Item 9
bollar
Disgruntled Member
Saw the video and not too impressed with the Tesla applicant 'Christina'. She couldn't answer convincingly some simple questions, and in one she was wrong.
She was asked, if other vehicles can use this station? Answer: No.
Great. Next question: Can Tesla use other type of charging stations? Answer: No. Because they use AC and Tesla charging is only DC.
Wrong, Wrong on multiple levels !. The question was specifically asked to find out why should the city approve for charging stations that only Teslas can charge. The correct answer is:
Yes Teslas are engineered to charge from most type of stations whether it is AC or DC, but the main problem with all those non-Tesla charging is they are all low powered, very slow and take many hours, sometimes up to 8 hours to simply get a charge to go 200 miles. Those cannot handle high power. Whereas Tesla's Superchargers were designed to specifically solve that problem, and lets you charge at high power and get back on the road for another 300 mile drive in less than an hour - the amount of time it takes for restroom and lunch/dinner break after a long drive. Main reason why Tesla cars are popular because they let you drive cross country using these Superchargers that are really fast compared to the other chargers. And that is another reason why you will see those other chargers are hardly used, because they are very slow and not so useful, and Tesla Superchargers are popular as they are quite fast and very useful, not to mention they are pretty sleek and easy to handle.
Also mention the fact the technology and patents are available and any car manufacturer can use them.
Unless you give the full context they are going to get the impression that they are forced to choose winners over losers, and Tesla is being greedy.
Edit: Wow great. Just listened to our own Bollar's 'testimony' and he explained it very well.
She was asked, if other vehicles can use this station? Answer: No.
Great. Next question: Can Tesla use other type of charging stations? Answer: No. Because they use AC and Tesla charging is only DC.
Wrong, Wrong on multiple levels !. The question was specifically asked to find out why should the city approve for charging stations that only Teslas can charge. The correct answer is:
Yes Teslas are engineered to charge from most type of stations whether it is AC or DC, but the main problem with all those non-Tesla charging is they are all low powered, very slow and take many hours, sometimes up to 8 hours to simply get a charge to go 200 miles. Those cannot handle high power. Whereas Tesla's Superchargers were designed to specifically solve that problem, and lets you charge at high power and get back on the road for another 300 mile drive in less than an hour - the amount of time it takes for restroom and lunch/dinner break after a long drive. Main reason why Tesla cars are popular because they let you drive cross country using these Superchargers that are really fast compared to the other chargers. And that is another reason why you will see those other chargers are hardly used, because they are very slow and not so useful, and Tesla Superchargers are popular as they are quite fast and very useful, not to mention they are pretty sleek and easy to handle.
Also mention the fact the technology and patents are available and any car manufacturer can use them.
Unless you give the full context they are going to get the impression that they are forced to choose winners over losers, and Tesla is being greedy.
Edit: Wow great. Just listened to our own Bollar's 'testimony' and he explained it very well.
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Great job Rick!
I can't believe all the misinformation about charging given by the Tesla representative. And this is her job, to explain it to local governments reviewing permit applications? Tesla should hire Rick instead.
Some of the excerpts in that video should be added to our thread of stupid things Tesla people have said.
I can't believe all the misinformation about charging given by the Tesla representative. And this is her job, to explain it to local governments reviewing permit applications? Tesla should hire Rick instead.
Some of the excerpts in that video should be added to our thread of stupid things Tesla people have said.
Is that marked as a gas station? There's an EV charging station category. Kinda bugs me when people label superchargers as gas stations
bollar
Disgruntled Member
I felt bad for her. She works in real estate acquisition and probably had no idea she was going to have to answer any questions beyond what landscaping and masonry to use.
"It's not what you don't know that kills you, it's what you know for sure that ain't true".
--- Mark Twain
Seems like a better course would have been to admit that as a real estate person she's not well versed with the details of different ways of charging Teslas and other EVs, and say she would like to defer to a Tesla owner here (that's you) who can explain it better. Or she could get some minimal education about it beforehand-- with hundreds of site applications already Tesla should anticipate such questions coming up occasionally. It's not their first rodeo.
I just saw this as another example of Tesla employees not being able to answer a question with "I don't know" or "I'll find out". They act as if it's better to give an immediate answer, even if it's not the correct one. That's why we have the aforementioned thread of stupid stuff Tesla people have said (but I've not been able to find it recently).
--- Mark Twain
Seems like a better course would have been to admit that as a real estate person she's not well versed with the details of different ways of charging Teslas and other EVs, and say she would like to defer to a Tesla owner here (that's you) who can explain it better. Or she could get some minimal education about it beforehand-- with hundreds of site applications already Tesla should anticipate such questions coming up occasionally. It's not their first rodeo.
I just saw this as another example of Tesla employees not being able to answer a question with "I don't know" or "I'll find out". They act as if it's better to give an immediate answer, even if it's not the correct one. That's why we have the aforementioned thread of stupid stuff Tesla people have said (but I've not been able to find it recently).
This looks like a great spot for N Tarrant visitors and travelers through the center of the area bound for N or W. Finally, a supercharger location with lots of choices. Not bad advertising for Tesla in a community that seems the the target demographic either.
Looking at google's street view and my own recollection on many trips up and down Carroll, I am puzzled by the concern about the concern of "proximity to residential property".
It looks like maybe one large house is a ways diagonal and down the street and already screened from Carroll and the mall by a privacy fence, a pool house and a free-standing garage. Both sides of the road and the median look to have live oaks running the length that would appear to have a lot of growing left to do.
Puzzling how a few electric vehicles gliding noiselessly in and out would be remotely noticed with the existing traffic along Carroll.
On the plus side for a traveler, this is one of the few I have visited where the area isn't even a little bit sketchy.
Nothing is open 24-hour in the area except maybe the Southlake Police Dept one block north and the 7-eleven two blocks north on 114 & Carroll.
Looking at google's street view and my own recollection on many trips up and down Carroll, I am puzzled by the concern about the concern of "proximity to residential property".
It looks like maybe one large house is a ways diagonal and down the street and already screened from Carroll and the mall by a privacy fence, a pool house and a free-standing garage. Both sides of the road and the median look to have live oaks running the length that would appear to have a lot of growing left to do.
Puzzling how a few electric vehicles gliding noiselessly in and out would be remotely noticed with the existing traffic along Carroll.
On the plus side for a traveler, this is one of the few I have visited where the area isn't even a little bit sketchy.
Nothing is open 24-hour in the area except maybe the Southlake Police Dept one block north and the 7-eleven two blocks north on 114 & Carroll.
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bollar
Disgruntled Member
Yes -- of course, we know the answer and they don't. That question will be easily answered at a future hearing.
Nearby residents don't want to smell the electric fumes...
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