Electric cars can plug in at downtown Kalamazoo parking ramp

Electric car owners have a new spot to recharge their vehicles in downtown Kalamazoo.

They can simply pull into the parking ramp on Portage St. and plug in to one of the two electric car charging stations. The stations are the type that recharge a battery in about three hours. The stations are in the parking ramp next to Rave Motion Pictures, on the ground level. They are intended to provide electric vehicle owners a convenient location to charge their vehicles, while spending time downtown.

The stations went in through the cooperative efforts of Downtown Kalamazoo Inc., Green Earth Michigan, Consumers Energy and ChargePoint America.

Downtown Kalamazoo Inc.’s Vice President of Planning and Development Steve Deisler says DKI’s role was to secure funds to install the charging station and arrange for the electricity to be connected.

For now, the recharging is being offered free as officials gauge the right price for such service. A Volt driver who recently used the charging stations reported he has only purchased three gallons of gasoline in three weeks and is getting about 230 miles to the gallon.

The next stations to be installed are expected to be in the city parking lot off Water Street behind the building reconstruction project being undertaken by Mavcon now called the Metropolitan Center. When parking lot reconstruction is completed, charging stations will go in there.

Deisler said that with charging stations in Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids and Muskegon it is becoming easier for electric car owners to take day trips and find the electricity they need to get home.

As part of its mission to encourage Kalamazoo to be an environmentally friendly community, Green Earth Michigan took on the role of project management to see the chargers installed.  Executive Director Daniel R. Doehrman informed city officials about plug-in readiness, legalities, and coordinated installations between all parties involved — the City of Kalamazoo Downtown Kalamazoo Inc., Central City Parking, ChargePoint America, Consumers Energy, and Webster Electric.

The new stations downtown bring the local count to six. Four stations also are located on the Western Michigan University campus.

Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: Steve Deisler, Downtown Kalamazoo, Inc., Daniel R. Doehrman, Green Earth Michigan