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Oregon Superchargers (location speculation, discussion)

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So with Woodburn up and running and the Tesla folks declaring that a) they are actively working on permitting for the three remaining Oregon Superchargers for this year, and Troy even pointing out that we'll be able to drive to San Francisco by Thanksgiving... let's find the other sites.

I did some more experiments with overlaying the Tesla Supercharger map over a real map of Oregon:

It's pretty clear that the Woodburn dot is actually a little too far South on I5 - it's actually just north of Keizer.
The next I5 one is just North of Roseburg, the third Oregon I5 Supercharger will be in Ashland (well, the dot covers both Medford and Ashland).

The third missing one is interesting - it appears to be on Hwy 22 - it's West of Detroit but having just driven that Hwy... Detroit seems to be the only logical place. So my guess is that just as the Woodburn dot is a bit too far South, this one is a bit too far West.

So let's start hunting for permits in Roseburg, Ashland / Medford and Detroit!

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what about the Northern California SC's? Redding and Williams?

I wish they would do Grant's pass instead of Medford or in addition to it but it will be ok. The Roseburg SC will be 230+ miles for me which means slow driving and in a few years I will need to stop in grants pass
Grants Pass would be outside of the dot - but see Woodburn... it's possible.
Redding would be about 150 miles from you - and even Ashland seems reasonable (~220 miles - but of course you'd be backtracking a bit -- unless you take CA96) ;-)
 
Hmm, sticking with the 150 mile theme, I am guessing Roseburg would be the next one going south.
Then I would think Ashland, even though it is 108 miles, your going to need all the KWH you can get to get up and over the Siskiyou pass.
Next major town is Redding, 150 miles from Ashland.
Then Woodland, CA which is 143 miles from Redding.
 
Hmm, sticking with the 150 mile theme, I am guessing Roseburg would be the next one going south.
Then I would think Ashland, even though it is 108 miles, your going to need all the KWH you can get to get up and over the Siskiyou pass.
Next major town is Redding, 150 miles from Ashland.
Then Woodland, CA which is 143 miles from Redding.

So far there hasn't been a pattern of "major town'. So while I'm not saying you are wrong, I'd like to try the same map overlay trick with NoCal.
 
My guesses from May 30th were:
  • Salem
  • Stayton
  • Eugene
  • Roseburg
  • Ashland
  • Redding

(For the 2015 map.)

Funny, I was thinking about this last night too.

NOTE. Centralia to Woodburn is about 121 flat miles. Burlington to Centralia is 152 flat miles.


My picks...
I used to live in Sutherlin, a bedroom community, just North for Roseburg. 138 miles from Woodburn. It has restaurants and some minor shopping at the highway. Note, this is about where the Tesla dot shows up on the map, just North of Roseburg. I haven't been down there in 10+ years, so no idea what's there now, or how it's grown.

Next, I would put in at Ashland, almost 122 miles from Sutherlin, with hills. Perfect side-stop community. The Tesla dot looks to be between Medford and Ashland, maybe just outside of either.

Ashland to Redding is a near perfect 138 miles, albeit mountainous.


My unfavored...

You don't want charging stations in larger towns, as people might not charge at their homes, they'll just drive downtown and park to charge (assuming there's Tesla owners there). The stations are needed outside, along the major routes, but not in the bigger cities. Hence, you don't see them in or too near Seattle, Portland, or Eugene, etc.

Roseburg from Woodburn is 150 miles, but there's hills involved, and no charging help along the way (outside of Eugene), that's too far for comfort.

- Roseburg, is a little too far, and a little too big.
- I would rule out Medford, just simply too big. There's some owners down there now.
- Grants Pass is not in the right location, too close to Roseburg/Sutherlin.
- I doubt Salem. If they did, it's for political show/payout. There is no need for one there.

- Detroit, doesn't entirely make sense to me. Many people come in to Central OR from the North. It seems like Sisters or Redmond would be a better place to serve more people in general. Detroit is only 68 miles from Woodburn. Too close. A 168 miles from Roseburg to Detroit, with a ton of mountains in between. Too far. Hmmm. Interesting, not sure on this one.

- Bend has a couple of owners already, and I think a little too big.
- Sisters makes sense. People need to charge up once they get to Central Oregon, so they can drive around and shop. Sisters is touristy, with little residence, in comparison to Bend or Redmond. But Redmond might be more conducive to through traffic, and has the land.



My money...
Sutherlin, Ashland, Redding. Lets search there. ;)

Sisters/Redmond is a longer shot, but more logical. Perhaps phase two.
Both small communities, with enough to do while you wait, stable in their presence/population too.
 
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- Roseburg, is a little too far, and a little too big.
- I would rule out Medford, just simply too big. There's some owners down there now.
- Grants Pass is not in the right location, too close to Roseburg/Sutherlin.
- I doubt Salem. If they did, it's for political show/payout. There is no need for one there.
I agree with those reasons. Now on the flip side, Seattle appears to be getting a SC (look at the Winter 2013 map).
- Detroit, doesn't entirely make sense to me. Many people come in to Central OR from the North. It seems like Sisters or Redmond would be a better place to serve more people in general. Detroit is only 68 miles from Woodburn. Too close. A 168 miles from Roseburg to Detroit, with a ton of mountains in between. Too far. Hmmm. Interesting, not sure on this one.
Me neither. But if you look at their map, the dot is even to the West of Detroit. Even closer to Woodburn, even further from Hwy 97.
- Bend has a couple of owners already, and I think a little too big.
- Sisters makes sense. People need to charge up once they get to Central Oregon, so they can drive around and shop. Sisters is touristy, with little residence, in comparison to Bend or Redmond. But Redmond might be more conducive to through traffic, and has the land.
Bend and Redmond are so far East of the dot that I'd consider this more than "oops, got that wrong". That would be "oops, I don't know how maps work". So while I can see the logic that there's more total travel there, they miss regarding where the dot is and they miss on "on the way, not at the destination".
Sisters really makes no difference compared to Detroit. Sisters is quite a bit bigger - but also clearly outside the dot. But this one would be more similar to the Woodburn one (in how far off the dot is).
My money...
Sutherlin, Ashland, Redding. Lets search there. ;)
I've spent a quality hour yesterday searching in and around Ashland and in the small communities East and West of Detroit, including Detroit and Sisters. Nothing.
Sisters/Redmond is a longer shot, but more logical. Perhaps phase two.
Both small communities, with enough to do while you wait, stable in their presence/population too.
As I said, I searched Sisters, too. Nothing. And for me Redmond is WAYS away from the dot.
And btw, according to my unnamed source, all three of the Oregon ones are being worked on - so this is not a Phase 2 thing. There is no other dot in Central Oregon on any of the maps, all the way to 2015 (and admittedly, that makes Redmond more likely than Detroit or Sisters - it seems odd that they'd ignore Hwy 97 completely)
 
Redmond makes more sense since it's on highway 97. But the intersection of route 20 & 97 is 150 miles from Woodburn. Basically Bend.

For the I5 corridor, you need to look at exits that meet the SC criteria. It looks like Tesla is trying to stay very close to an exit in addition to their other stated requirements. There are only a few - maybe 5 or so - for the Medford/Ashland area.
 
My phase two comment was reserved for a Bend/Redmond location.

Detroit area just baffles me a bit, in terms of distance. It's a great place to stop and eat though coming back or heading over to C.O.. We've done it several times - several good quaint restaurants there.

Distance logic... I'm still sticking to Sutherlin and Ashland areas for what's coming next.
 
Could you make it from Woodburn to Sisters, given the climb in between?

Detroit makes a lot of sense-- there are amenities there, it is just before the big climb starts (eastbound)... coming from Portland, I would probably skip Woodburn altogether and go straight to Detroit.
 
My earlier guesses had the Superchargers placed in Salem and then Canyonville. Given that they went with Woodburn I would have to guess that the idea of Sutherlin, OR and then Ashland, OR are pretty reasonable. The road goes up and down some hills once you get south of Cottage Grove and the 150 miles from Woodburn to Roseburg would be less than optimal for the 60 kWh packs and, because they would need to then occupy a Supercharger stall for much longer to get a higher % of charge, it could impact use by the 85kWh drivers as well.

That said, there's not much in Sutherlin to get excited about. There's a couple of fast-food joints and some gas stations.

Ashland is a much larger town than Sutherlin and much more interesting. It's also a good place to stop and charge up before heading over the mountains (or charge up after going over them). Then it's a mere 135 miles to Redding, CA. The next one could be where I-505 hits I-5. There's a dot around there on Tesla's map.
 
In that case, Sisters would be the logical choice.

@Phil, yeah Sutherlin is just a left over sawmill city that now just serves and extension of Roseburg. Not much there, but just exactly enough for a supercharger station.

@Don, Dirk is right. I could drive from Beaverton to Redmond with 160 actual miles, take off about 27 for elevation climb, and I'd still make it. So it makes sense for Sisters to have a bank, particularly right there at that shopping center at NW side of town (coming in from Black Butte).

Only issue with not having Detroit, is if you're trying to come from central Oregon, from the South. Wouldn't be able to make it. Granted that Tesla demand is easily 10x to 20x less than the traffic needs coming in from the North.

Sisters is so much more logical. Actually Redmond is even better, once your in C.O., more convenient from all parts around.

@Owner, yes, your right, but you need to be convenient on/off the highway. Downtown proper wouldn't work too well. Tough call on that one. Many people spend the night in Redding on this drive, tho Ashland would be a great to stay over and catch a play too.

Troy Jones, if you're out there, this thread is for you! ;)
 
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Interesting. The Supercharger map was revised today. Woodburn is on, but there is no 'Summer 2013' tab anymore and everything else was pushed into 'Fall 2013'.
I notice a couple of funny oddities (dots appearing in red in the Fall 2013 map... my guess is these are the missing Summer 2013 Superchargers that on the Fall image were not marked as gray = new).
And there is a fourth I5 in Oregon Supercharger on the Winter 2013 map that I don't recall seeing there earlier. That one seems to be around Eugene...

ORSC.png