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Parking for EVs only... While Charging?

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TEG

Teslafanatic
Moderator
Aug 20, 2006
22,101
9,490
So I am limping home almost out of charge in my decade old EV that uses an old style charge connector.
I look up a local public charge spot that has Avcon & SPI, but when I get there the lot is full with an EV in the spot, but not charging. (May not even have an adapter to plug in there.)

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Disappointing...
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I guess the same sort of thing is bound to start happening with Leafs in Tesla spots too...
 

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What a sad story, I hope you could get home alright... In Tokyo I've never even seen another EV (or non-EV) in any of the public EV parking sports other than Roadsters charging at the 2 HPCs Telsa has in their showroom parking spaces. I think people here take it pretty seriously that they shouldn't get in somebody's way who really needs a charge. Looks like you had some space on the right side of the Roadster, where you able to squeeze in and charge?
 
What a sad story, I hope you could get home alright...
Yeah, I made it, just barely. There was another public charge spot (luckily available) a few blocks away so I made it to "Plan B".

benji4 said:
Looks like you had some space on the right side of the Roadster, where you able to squeeze in and charge?
Close, but no 'cigar'. I couldn't quite fit in there. Another funny thing is that this is the one charge spot in a city hall parking garage right next to the police station.
If it were any other car, I would have likely left a note on the windshield, but it was a Roadster after all.
(Struggling with some internal debate over entitlements... 'Hey a Roadster!... so cool... wait?! it is blocking my spot!...ummm... drats...')
 
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Here is a start

Hello new EV owner. Thank you for saving the planet. However parking in the EV charging spot while not plugged in has now lessened my chances of getting home on my EV. Next time will you please park in a regular parking spot and let those of us who need a charge use the facilities? There are more us us every day.
Thank you.
(low mileage) EV driver
 
One great thing about the Roadster is that since it has so much range, most of the time you don't really need to plug it in when just doing stuff around the city. I find myself hardly ever needing to charge away from home, so most of the time even when I'm in a lot with a charging station I don't need to take up the space that another EV might really need -- better to leave it for a LEAF or iMiev that's probably out of juice!
 
It becomes more of a dilemma when all the regular spaces are occupied and the only one left is an EV-while-charging spot.

In my case the level was full, so the EV not needing a charge would have been more inconvenienced by having to drive down to a lower level to find a free space.
 
Urgh. That same Glacier Blue roadster #1108 CA"6PJH033" is still parking there without charging.
I couldn't get in that spot again.

I am not the only one noticing either...
EVChargerMaps
arthur reports: EV parking space was taken by a blue Tesla Roadster with license plate 6PJH033 that was not charging, but merely taking advantage of the convenient parking space.
If you have an EV and can't or aren't charging at that EV space, don't use it simply because it is a convenient parking space. It blocks others who would like to actually charge there.
 
Seriously, leave that dude a polite note. I've had Roadsters parked near me down at the C level. I've been in that lot on plenty of busy nights and have never not found a spot. It's not that big of a deal to drive down a few levels. He probably just doesn't know any better. Take this opportunity to educate.

I guess this is another reason to not put the EV charging in the choice spots.


Btw, as an off topic side note -- My biggest peeve with that lot is all the SUVs that park in the compact car spots. I've often been so squeezed, I have to let my date out early and I have to climb out the top.
 
Yes, I left a note.

Actually it would be nice if the city were to put in a Tesla charger in a different spot so there wasn't any competition.
As it is there is only one spot with both a paddle (old RAV4EV), and Avcon (RangerEV, etc.) so there was already a suggestion that it would be good to get another space before the Roadster made it worse by camping there too. Oh, and a Yazaki J1772 (for Leaf's and Volt's) would be nice while they are at it. Lots of new EVs are coming "don't ya know"...


The city had actually gone to the trouble to change their "PARKING FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES ONLY" signs to say "PARKING FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES WHEN CHARGING".
(If you look closely you can see that the WHEN CHARGING is a reflective sticker overlay.)
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This is always a dilemma. I don't want to take a charging spot that a another EV-owner might need. I also don't want to see those spots without EVs in them, because then people start to think the spots aren't necessary.

So my general rule of thumb is this - if there are multiple spots open, I'll take one. If not, I won't. And I've started carrying a small laminated placard that I place on the driver's side saying when I'll be back & if a charge is needed, please call my cell phone @. I don't want anyone ever to be stranded.

On the other hand, I had to fly out of Sacramento for a day trip this week. Conveniently, there was an empty spot immediately adjacent to the two EV charging spots. So I took that empty spot figuring people would still see an EV, but I wouldn't take up a charger. But when I got back that evening, there were two ICE cars in the two EV-charging spots. Rude! One a BMW 540, and the other a Toyota Corolla. So now I'm thinking it would have been better to put my Roadster in one of the two charging spots, that maybe ICE drivers would have left the other charging spot alone, had they seen an electric car in one.
 
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So I am limping home almost out of charge in my decade old EV that uses an old style charge connector....... I guess the same sort of thing is bound to start happening with Leafs in Tesla spots too...

Hummm...... I think I know what is going to be attached to your new J1772 charging station. :). Enjoy!

GSP
 
I regularly park in a dead Ev spot. Once the spot was taken a Smart Car (ICE) that was outfitted with a large wind up key on the back. People would walk by and chuckle. I wrote a note in the windshield. "Cute, but it's not electric. Please park elsewhere".

There is a standardized note for the when a spot is ICE'd somewhere on the old EV1 forums that I can;t find anymore. They also handed out a card to owners with movable hands so you could put it in the window with a return time showing,