First Public Charger in San Diego 6/16 Show up to Support!

[bsavall]

As others have observed, the EV spots are being used by non-EV cars. So I went to the visitors center to inquire about the rules for the spots. Spoke with the head ranger and he pulled out the rules for the EV spots and "Charging station parking spots are not reserved for Electric vehicles, but this may change". While many people respect the spots for EV use, on a busy weekend there is enough pressure that they get taken by ICE's. Does anyone know if there are plans for any fast charging stations at the park or plans for charging stations in downtown San Diego?

Thanks,

 

[Coffee_Slurry]

That's really lame. Why would they install charging stations only to have them be (guaranteed) filled by ICE cars?

Moreover, the chargers each only reach one space. What's the point?

 

[smkettner]

Just keep asking at the visiter center... things will change.

 

[electricfuture]

Adrianne from Ecotality informed me that the spots at Balboa Park are being painted with yellow EV only on the road. The City Council is discussing adding a viloation like the one for Handicap spaces to prevent abuse. Painting should be in a week or two.

To get the Blink card go to:
8885 Rio San Diego Dr. Suite 257, San Diego,CA Suite 257

This is the back building in the parking lot.

You must be registered with them to get the card.

 

[davekern]

Adrianne from Ecotality informed me that the spots at Balboa Park are being painted with yellow EV only on the road. The City Council is discussing adding a viloation like the one for Handicap spaces to prevent abuse. Painting should be in a week or two.

To get the Blink card go to:
8885 Rio San Diego Dr. Suite 257, San Diego,CA Suite 257

This is the back building in the parking lot.

You must be registered with them to get the card.

Thanks!!!!

 

[JPVLeaf]

Today I went to the Torrey Pines Lodge parking garage to plug in. This one is sort of hidden on the second level of the adjacent parking structure (Labeled Level 4). There is a gate but it opens automatically when you enter (no charge for parking), then go up the ramp and you will see orange cones and a sign that says “Valet Parking Only” – ignore this and enter. The two chargers are on your left right behind the cones – well really plastic orange posts. There is no RFID card required. I plugged in and it charged up. The car asked if this could be added as a new charging point and I accepted. Note that this place does not show as a charging point in the system. There is also a 3rd charger for Handicapped only just inside the garage entrance.

Is this the address: 11480 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA?

Do you have to be a guest at the Lodge to access these EVSE's?
Or, can anyone drive into the parking structure to access them?

FWIW, I'm scoping out possible charging locations for a coming weekend trip
from Orange County to San Diego/Coronado area. TIA!

 

[davewill]

Is this the address: 11480 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA?

Do you have to be a guest at the Lodge to access these chargers?
Or, can anyone drive into the parking structure to access them?
Are they L2s?

FWIW, I'm scoping out possible charging locations for a coming weekend trip
from Orange County to San Diego/Coronado area. TIA!

Yes, that's the place. Watch for the sign. It's not a regular driveway, it's a ramp, like a freeway exit. The parking is public and free during the day (I have no idea when/if they ever actually do charge for parking). They have a couple of restaurants (not cheap), the TP golf course and driving range is there, and it's a good spot to start when hiking in TP State Park, just start walking north. The vistas in the state park are breathtaking.

 

[JPVLeaf]

Yes, that's the place. Watch for the sign. It's not a regular driveway, it's a ramp, like a freeway exit. The parking is public and free during the day (I have no idea when/if they ever actually do charge for parking). They have a couple of restaurants (not cheap), the TP golf course and driving range is there, and it's a good spot to start when hiking in TP State Park, just start walking north (edit: was south). The vistas in the state park are breathtaking.

Cool, Dave. Thanks for the tips. Sounds like this would be a nice destination all to itself.

 

[davewill]

...when hiking in TP State Park, just start walking south...

Ummmm, brain freeze. That's NORTH you want to be walking. I'll change the post above, too. If you would edit your quote, JPVLeaf, maybe we can limit the misinformation spread.

 

[JPVLeaf]

Cool, Dave. Thanks for the tips. Sounds like this would be a nice destination all to itself.

Ummmm, brain freeze. That's NORTH you want to be walking. I'll change the post above, too. If you would edit your quote, JPVLeaf, maybe we can limit the misinformation spread.

Done.

 

[lonndoggie]

More about the Torrey Pines Lodge Blinks: My co-worker friend got his LEAF last week, but his second meter had yet to be installed, so he couldn't use the Blink at home, and he found out that his old house wasn't wired properly, so he couldn't trickle, either! So, his LEAF was here at work, with not enough juice to get home.

I did a recon run to TP to check 'em out. All three (the one on the ground floor behind the entry kiosk and the two upstairs) were open. He was too busy to come up then, so left his car at work overnight and we caravaned over the next morning. Again, all three were open. He plugged in, we went back to work, and he got a full charge.

One other thing--they appear to be on an old system rev (no network connectivity), and the first day I looked, one was borked. There is an electrical box next to each with a big throw handle to cycle power--did that, and it came up ready to charge.

If I was an iPhone user, and used Recargo, I'd submit an entry for these (hint).

 

[JPVLeaf]

More about the Torrey Pines Lodge Blinks ....

So, there are Blink units? I'm still waiting for my RFID card. So I am out of luck without an RFID card?

 

[davewill]

They're an anomaly. They were installed so early that Ecotality didn't have the commercial units ready. So they're very early residential units with no security or network connectivity at all. You just plug in and they work.

 

[JPVLeaf]

They're an anomaly. They were installed so early that Ecotality didn't have the commercial units ready. So they're very early residential units with no security or network connectivity at all. You just plug in and they work.

Whoa, I'm suddenly happy again!
Thanks!

 

[smkettner]

They're an anomaly. They were installed so early that Ecotality didn't have the commercial units ready. So they're very early residential units with no security or network connectivity at all. You just plug in and they work.

Someday I think business will realize this is actually the best way to go. The savings going with the low cost no features unit, lower install costs, and no networking cost will pay for many many years of electric usage. Not to mention someone has to manage the networked account.

 

[davewill]

Someday I think business will realize this is actually the best way to go. The savings going with the low cost no features unit, lower install costs, and no networking cost will pay for many many years of electric usage. Not to mention someone has to manage the networked account.

I agree. When someone like Ecotality or ChargePoint comes along and offers their solution, promising low cost and to handle all those "complex" issues, it's easy for a business to get sucked in. I think that later on, when this becomes more common, i.e. when the business owners themselves are EV users, they will realize that installing EVSEs isn't difficult, or expensive, or a big liability and they will be more willing to just install simple hardware.

 

[DaveEV]

Funny - I've been to Torrey Pines a handful of times and always parked in the open lot to the north, never the parking structure.

Looks like you pull around the roundabout and head in - is it 2 or 3 levels of parking? Hard to tell from the Google or Bing Maps...

 

[lonndoggie]

I think that later on, when this becomes more common, i.e. when the business owners themselves are EV users, they will realize that installing EVSEs isn't difficult, or expensive, or a big liability and they will be more willing to just install simple hardware.

There either are, or are about to be, three Blink/Ecotality EVSEs at Stone Brewery in San Marcos. I don't know if they're free or not, but co-founder Greg Koch started out doing this as a good-for-the-community thing, but now he's jazzed because he got himself a Volt and will be plugging in at work.

So yeah, that's happening.

 

[lonndoggie]

Looks like you pull around the roundabout and head in - is it 2 or 3 levels of parking? Hard to tell from the Google or Bing Maps...

Two levels...that have EVSEs, anyway. When you come off Torrey Pines Drive, instead of turning right to go to the open parking, turn left and into the structure.

As pointed out previously in another thread, the downstairs one is hard to get in to, at least while entering the structure; you have a better angle at it coming the other way. So, check it out on your way by to see if it's open, then head upstairs. If those are taken, you can nab the one on the first floor.

 

[walterbays]

I received my Blink card, but cannot access blinknetwork.com to activate the card or to confirm that they activated it. It looks like a problem that may affect many people. Coincident with sending the card they also deactivated my old password, necessitating a password reset. But their password "reset" page only emails you a link to their password change page, which will not function without the old password. It will not function with an old password that they deactivated. Their support line will not answer the phone due to unusually high call volume, which strengthens my belief they have locked out many people's accounts right when they had a reason to access their accounts. So, I'm left not knowing if I were to drive to Balboa Park with 49% of battery remaining, whether I would be able to charge and make it home.

As others have observed, the EV spots are being used by non-EV cars. So I went to the visitors center to inquire about the rules for the spots. Spoke with the head ranger and he pulled out the rules for the EV spots and "Charging station parking spots are not reserved for Electric vehicles, but this may change".

But I suppose the lack of a working RFID card scarcely matters if the charging stations themselves are normally inaccessible to EV's because they're being "used" as premium parking spaces for ICE vehicles. Does anyone know a phone number at Balboa Park we could call to inquire whether the EV charging stations are yet reserved for EV's?

Sigh. One year late San Diego finally gets its first public charging stations - and they can't be used. :-(