WESTWOOD—The governing body on June 28 adopted resolutions authorizing the borough’s electric vehicle charging station initiative to move forward, including project management, design services, working with charging provider Blink, and striping of the charging stalls.
The move follows action taken April 5 when the governing body approved a plan presented by councilwoman and Parking Authority liaison Cheryl Hodges to install four dual Level 2 electric vehicle charging stations in the borough’s three public parking lots: north, south, and Fairview.
The Westwood Parking Authority endorsed the plan at its April 12 meeting.
According to Mayor Ray Arroyo, each EV charging location will provide four charging ports, enabling 12 vehicles to be charged simultaneously in the Central Business District. Level 2 chargers offer 40–65 miles of travel with every hour of charge.
Arroyo said the upgraded electrical service feeding each station will provide full charging without power sharing. He said power sharing lengthens the time it takes to reach full charge and is less desirable for this application.
“Fully powered Level 2 chargers are especially suitable, and efficient, for downtown installations, where parking is at a premium and two- or three-hour maximum meter times are in effect,” Arroyo said.
“There was some concern at council as to whether there was sufficient demand for 12 ports. The question was whether we would needlessly be taking parking stalls out of general service,” he said in April.
He added, “But the governing body wisely decided to install this infrastructure now, anticipating growth in demand for this service. We also think of it as an amenity that will make the CBD more attractive as a destination.”
Arroyo said, quoting “Field of Dreams,” “‘If you build it, they will come.’ Installing these ports will make Westwood the only public electric charging station in New Jersey north of New Milford, between the parkway and Closter.”
To fund this initiative, the borough will purse PSEG’s Make Ready grant program.
“We are working closely with renowned industry vendor Blink and the installation target is late spring of this year,” he said.
Resident John O’Sullivan was tapped to manage the project. Arroyo said O’Sullivan has extensive experience in this field as a former equity partner in an EV charging startup.
“John now heads a company installing EV infrastructure nationwide. We could not be more fortunate to have him coordinating Westwood’s first installation of EV charging stations,” said Arroyo.
He added kudos to Hodges, Westwood Parking Authority interim administrator Carol Knubel, Parking Authority member Joe Letizia, “and all the members of the PA for laying the groundwork for this important initiative.”
After the June 28 council meeting, at which the resolutions were passed, Arroyo thanked Councilwoman Cheryl Hodges and members of the Westwood Parking Authority for getting the project off the ground. Council president is Beth Dell.
“We’d hoped the three locations would be under construction by now. However, we were about a month off our estimate. Which for government work is right on schedule,” he said online.
Arroyo said although there are “one-off” chargers elsewhere in the area, “Westwood might be the first to fully commit to the rapidly emerging technology by simultaneously installing multiple stations on multiple municipal parking lots.”
He said the borough “looked at the trends, the capital investments, the legacy auto companies (Volkswagen, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan) were making to retool assembly lines and increase EV production.”
He said General Motors has announced it will phase out manufacturing gas powered vehicles by 2035 and that it has invested $35 billion in EV production.
“New start-up manufacturers are in the mix, stirring competition and innovation. The EV market share is growing by leaps and bounds. And with the generous grant funding/incentives made available, the governing body decided it was exactly the right time to make more than a token commitment to this transition.”
Arroyo said, “We are delighted to be working with well-established charger provider Blink. The units are unobtrusive and versatile. And the terms of our agreement give the borough flexibility in controlling the hours of availability for the charging service.”
He said, “Given the limited supply of parking in the public lots we want to avoid empty stalls while the local demand for EV charging is ramping up.”
Residents react
In the post thread, dozens of residents sounded off with cheers, likes, and loves. One called it a terrific initiative.
Another said “Can’t wait. I have [a Ford] F-150 Lightning [all-electric truck] on order.”
One resident pointed out that Level 2 is not a quick charger; it gives about 30 miles of charge per hour.
To that, Arroyo said “Understood. Our metered stalls offer two-hour maximum stays. So you can “top off“ for a 60-mile run while dining or shopping or doing business downtown.”
After that, the resident supposed, “So at the two-hour limit, you can move to another charger (if available), move to another non-charging spot, or leave.”
Arroyo said, “Yes, that is correct.”