Western Canada Superchargers

[gpetti]

My opinion - I think any kind of cone or barrier is a terrible idea. Many will ignore it anyway, but I for one don't want to;

Arrive at charger
Stop, get out of the car (possibly impeding through traffic)
Move cone out of the way
Back into charging spot
Complete charging
Pull out of charging spot
Stop, get out of car
Replace cone
Go on my merry way.

It's bad enough to have to do all that when the weather's pleasant. Miserable sequence of steps if it's raining hard/snowing/strong winds/just plain coldcoldcold.

Agreed but given a choice between having no access to the supercharger and having to perform those steps, I would choose the cone situation. I don't know what other approaches they have - clearly the hotel will be reluctant to tow anyone. Maybe if they only coned off a couple of the bays so you could just drive in unless the drive in slots were ICEd and then you moved the cones only if that was all that was left. Unfortunately I guess that would probably make the other spots look like they were fair game.

 

[Canuck]

Agreed but given a choice between having no access to the supercharger and having to perform those steps, I would choose the cone situation. I don't know what other approaches they have - clearly the hotel will be reluctant to tow anyone. Maybe if they only coned off a couple of the bays so you could just drive in unless the drive in slots were ICEd and then you moved the cones only if that was all that was left. Unfortunately I guess that would probably make the other spots look like they were fair game.

Agreed. I only mentioned it for:

View attachment 70175
Revelstoke.
Iced.
(As expected)

I wouldn't want it at every Supercharger, nor is that necessary. But looking at the picture above, I'd welcome arriving at cones, rather than that. Even if they were crushed underneath, at least they tried!

 

[dasRad]

Revelstoke Supercharger

The Revelstoke supercharge will always be a problem on weekends during the winter. The problem is that there is not enough (easy) parking for everyone. Last weekend, there were at least half a dozen of these rigs at the Best Western and, as you can see, they take up a minimum of 6 parking spots. Some of the owners are considerate and park outside the lot, but about half of them really don't care. I watched for a few minutes on Saturday evening as multiple people drove around the parking lot looking for a unused spot. There is a large empty parking lot behind the hotel (on the other side of a 30 foot wall of snow), but no one seemed interested in using it.

Also, based on my limited experience with Revelstoke, the snow conditions pictured are quite good (it was above freezing with occasional rain and the lot had been plowed). When I was there last winter most of the streets would have been impassable with a Tesla and a couple of years before that there was 4 metres of snow in town!

- - - Updated - - -

Agreed. I only mentioned it for:



I wouldn't want it at every Supercharger, nor is that necessary. But looking at the picture above, I'd welcome arriving at cones, rather than that. Even if they were crushed underneath, at least they tried!

There were cones, but they had been tossed aside. On Saturday morning I set them up to block one spot nearest the electrical enclosure, and come Saturday evening, they had been tossed aside again.

 

[Peter_M]

Are you guys sending these pictures of ICEd supercharger spaces to [email protected]? They say they will deal with problems as they arise, but they need to know that there are problems, and how often there are problems.

 

[mrElbe]

These rigs are taking 6 parking spots. They not only impede supercharging but also other hotel guests. Reasonable Hotel policy would be 2 parking spots per room. Any more and there will be a parking charge.

 

[gpetti]

There were cones, but they had been tossed aside. On Saturday morning I set them up to block one spot nearest the electrical enclosure, and come Saturday evening, they had been tossed aside again.

That's outrageous. Maybe a tow warning? Followed by a tow!

 

[Morristhecat]

Where did all these rednecks park when the supercharger was under construction? Surely the site was blocked off and they parked elsewhere. How can that situation be replicated to make this work?

 

[dasRad]

Where did all these rednecks park when the supercharger was under construction? Surely the site was blocked off and they parked elsewhere. How can that situation be replicated to make this work?

I expect that the work area was fenced off while construction was underway. I don't know the actual construction dates, but if it was before December, there wouldn't have been very many (if any) sledders in town.

The problem is entirely seasonal. Once the sledders put their toys away for the summer, the problem will disappear. That, and with the snow gone, there is a lot more room. The plowed snow has to be pushed somewhere and there is a LOT of it (the Revelstoke area typically sees around 10 metres of snowfall every year).

As for towing the sledding rigs, that would be up to the hotel as it is their parking lot, and the hotel makes a lot of money off them. I can't imagine the local staff saying much unless head office orders them to.

 

[glenhurst]

There is a large empty parking lot behind the hotel (on the other side of a 30 foot wall of snow), but no one seemed interested in using it.

Ultimately, it is the hotel that must fix the problem. While it's nice of those sledders who park in the street rather than take up multiple spaces in the lot, that isn't really fair to the neighbors to have all those guests parking in front of their houses all winter. It sounds like the hotel could solve the problem by posting some signs that say trucks w/trailers should park in the large empty lot behind the hotel AND paint lines on the asphalt to create long parking spaces to accommodate trucks & trailers. And while they're at it, they ought to post some signs to reserve at least a couple of the SC spots for Teslas. The hotel is a business, they're making money out of this, and when that's the case, they have to provide adequate facilities for their operations. (We have the same problem with a restaurant at the other end of my block.)

 

[Supercharged]

Prairie Provinces Superchargers

I see southern Manitoba and the Winnipeg areas are slated for a SC in 2016. Fantastic!
Hopefully Brandon, Regina and Saskatoon areas will get them in time for the Model E rollout in 2017. Or by the way in which the Model X is delayed, 2018.
A couple near the Alberta /Saskatchewan border and Manitoba/Ontario border would be great too!

 

[Beckler]

I wonder how many of those redneck sledders (i.e. sledders) hate Tesla and are blocking intentionally? Impossible to know...

 

[wayner]

Maybe I am a bit too locally minded, but I would like to see a buildup of the Windsor-QC corridor before going to the Praires. Far more of the cars are in Southern Ontario and we have very few SCs. Let's have the Ontario/Quebec map look like the California map with lots of dots right on top of each other before going out to the Prairies, especially if they won't actually have a store or service centre in MB or SK.

Others may fell differently but I have no interest in doing long range road trips, even in a car as great as a Tesla. I did that as a kid in the back of the station wagon and I am good with that for a couple more lifetimes.

 

[clea]

I really don't think that the build out of Superchargers needs to be thought of as a linear process where they can only build one section at a time.

 

[wayner]

I really don't think that the build out of Superchargers needs to be thought of as a linear process where they can only build one section at a time.

Assuming that capital is scarce then it is. If I were a shareholder of TSLA I would be hoping that they look at SCs from a financial perspective - what gives them the best ROI. Therefore you should go after high ROI sites first and I would argue these are in areas where you are selling lots of vehicles today and will continue to do so in the future.

 

[Doug_G]

Yes, but also places where people in large markets are likely to drive to (thus Barrie).

 

[wayner]

Yes, exactly so that people who live in Southern Ontario and have cottages don't have to worry about range anxiety. These are the people that can afford the $100k+ price tag of a Model S or Model X. The map for 2016 also shows SCs in Huntsville, North Bay and Sudbury. But now we are straying to the thread about the other side of the country.

 

[Jaff]

I agree with your sentiment that the problem will disappear when the sledding season is over...however, this situation is untenable, and I really think that Tesla must pressure the BW to police this issue...

I expect that the work area was fenced off while construction was underway. I don't know the actual construction dates, but if it was before December, there wouldn't have been very many (if any) sledders in town.

The problem is entirely seasonal. Once the sledders put their toys away for the summer, the problem will disappear.

- - - Updated - - -

Good stuff!...the modern "last (electric) spike" is starting to happen!

I see southern Manitoba and the Winnipeg areas are slated for a SC in 2016. Fantastic!
Hopefully Brandon, Regina and Saskatoon areas will get them in time for the Model E rollout in 2017. Or by the way in which the Model X is delayed, 2018.
A couple near the Alberta /Saskatchewan border and Manitoba/Ontario border would be great too!

 

[Footbag]

When you use the superchargers located at hotels/venues, do you ever go into the hotel and thank the reception staff? I did not think of it at the time, but next time I am @ the Red Deer one, I think I will do just that, in hopes that they pass it up the chain that these chargers actually get used. It may just be wishful thinking (and less applicable as the chargers frequented often by Teslas), but if the hotel knows they get used, perhaps they will be more likely to police the ICE'ing?

 

[Spurkey]

When you use the superchargers located at hotels/venues, do you ever go into the hotel and thank the reception staff?

I've done it with the L2 chargers especially if I'm not staying at the hotel. Most times they're surprised that someone's using the charger so I think a bit of usage awareness will definitely help.

 

[Jaff]

Absolutely every time Footbag!...early on, even for Level II charging, I always made a point of telling the staff that the reason I chose their establishment was because they had a charge station...figured it would help spread the word about charge stations bringing in more clientele...I think it is very important that we not forget to let the hosts of these stations know that we appreciate it...