Lanzer
Well-known member
A big hats off to the City of San Jose as part of the cities to embrace alternative fuel and laying out the EV infrastructure. As part of their deployment, two charging stations were build in the San Jose Convention Center with free charging.
Attending a convention this weekend, I was excited to be able to take advantage of a public charging station for the first time. It's time to rake in the benefits of being an early adopter!
When I arrived at the convention center, I circled around the parking lot not finding any charging stations. Finally I parked at a handicapped spot to look around, and I found out why I couldn't see the charging stations...
Two gas cars were parked at the parking spaces where the charging stations were installed!
Upon closer inspection, I found out why the spots were occupied. There were signs labeled "Electric Car Charging Station", but there are no signs saying that those parking spots were reserved for electric cars only. The two parking spots are closest to the entrance, and without any guidance, those spots are the first to be occupied in the morning.
I felt like it's my duty to inform management about this problem, so I talked to a staff member at the parking facility about the issue. The staff apologized and said that "we should have cones to block off the parking spots. We can't do anything now but we'll lay them down tomorrow morning". Feeling like I've done my part, I parked at a regular spot and spent my day at the convention.
When I returned the next day, long behold, the two parking spots were taken again by gas cars. No cones, no notices.
I visited the office once again to be greeted by a different staff member, who told me that he had heard nothing about blocking off the parking spots. He then added "I cannot put a cone there for you because those parking spots cannot be reserved just for you, they are reserved for the general public". :roll: Knowing that the real solution is to have local management place cones every single morning, I dropped the issue and now I'm looking for who would have the authority to actually put a proper sign up at the charging stations.
So there you have it. Even though there is the good will start building the EV infrastructure, there are still various spots where bugs need to be worked out. Have anyone else experienced similar problems at other locations?
Attending a convention this weekend, I was excited to be able to take advantage of a public charging station for the first time. It's time to rake in the benefits of being an early adopter!
When I arrived at the convention center, I circled around the parking lot not finding any charging stations. Finally I parked at a handicapped spot to look around, and I found out why I couldn't see the charging stations...
Two gas cars were parked at the parking spaces where the charging stations were installed!
Upon closer inspection, I found out why the spots were occupied. There were signs labeled "Electric Car Charging Station", but there are no signs saying that those parking spots were reserved for electric cars only. The two parking spots are closest to the entrance, and without any guidance, those spots are the first to be occupied in the morning.
I felt like it's my duty to inform management about this problem, so I talked to a staff member at the parking facility about the issue. The staff apologized and said that "we should have cones to block off the parking spots. We can't do anything now but we'll lay them down tomorrow morning". Feeling like I've done my part, I parked at a regular spot and spent my day at the convention.
When I returned the next day, long behold, the two parking spots were taken again by gas cars. No cones, no notices.
I visited the office once again to be greeted by a different staff member, who told me that he had heard nothing about blocking off the parking spots. He then added "I cannot put a cone there for you because those parking spots cannot be reserved just for you, they are reserved for the general public". :roll: Knowing that the real solution is to have local management place cones every single morning, I dropped the issue and now I'm looking for who would have the authority to actually put a proper sign up at the charging stations.
So there you have it. Even though there is the good will start building the EV infrastructure, there are still various spots where bugs need to be worked out. Have anyone else experienced similar problems at other locations?