VIDEO: Mayor Adams officially unveils SmartPark's new electric vehicle charging stations

Drivers of electric cars and plug-in hybrids now have eleven less reasons to worry about their car's battery life—at least if they're in downtown Portland. On Thursday November 29, 2012, Mayor Sam Adams unveiled Portland's latest electric vehicle charging stations in three SmartPark garages in downtown's retail core: the Pioneer District. The garages equipped with electric vehicle chargers are located at 3rd and Alder (entrance on 4th), 4th and Yamhill (entrance on 4th), and 10th and Yamhill (entrance on 10th). 

The eleven new chargers are the result of a public-private partnership between the City of Portland and ECOtality, a company that produces the BLINK charging stations now found in the SmartPark garages. Most funding for the chargers came from the EV Project, part of the 2009 American Recovery & Reinvestment Act. The stations are available to the public for a $1 - $2 per hour charging fee (depending on membership status in the BLINK network) in addition to regular SmartPark parking fees, and the 4-hour time limit spaces are reserved for charging electric vehicles only. The stations will also collect data on how they are being used to help inform the development of future infrastructure for electric vehicles. 

"These are great new resources for visitors to downtown Portland. As more and more people choose to drive electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, it is important that we provide the charging stations that allow them to enjoy all that the downtown retail core has to offer,” said Mayor Sam Adams. "It also helps us meet our climate action goals by facilitating the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions."

After the initial pilot phase which ends in December 2013, the City will have the option to buy the charging stations from ECOtality. For more information about the charging stations and how to enroll in a BLINK membership, visit the Blink Website.