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⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️
Village Idiot
I don't see three stall blocked. I see three stalls in use and one blocked, and I missing something?
The one in the middle is in stall 1B but using the charging cable from the stall behind him, so he blocking a stall.
Maybe Tesla needs to paint direction arrows in the stalls.
NovemberXray
Member
Looks like the blue S should be nose in and using 1B, because now no one can use 1B. The trouble is there's so many different layouts for Superchargers. I think Tesla treats them like the cars, and whenever they think up something that might be cool or work a little better they just start building them. I have driven all over the country and seem at least a dozen different Superchager configurations. The frustrating result is that every time you pull into one, you have to stare at for a few minutes to try and figure out where you're supposed to park. Even the ones that are just the most common all in a row, back in, the numbering/pairing arrangement changes so you have to look carefully to decide which stall is best if any are in use.
I could totally see getting confused in that config, especially if there weren't any other cars when I pulled in. Maybe the other two cars are doing it wrong. 
Arrows are needed there.
Arrows are needed there.
thecloud
As rhythm raced inside, the ship came alive
'POLINA' is a single car, taking up 3 stalls at once. How is that possible, you ask? It's because the car is facing the wrong way.
1. The car is supposed to be using 1B (the charger visible on the left). Its use is effectively blocked since no one else can reach it (unless they park in the middle of the lane, blocking traffic.) The cable won't reach any other stalls but the one POLINA is in.
2. The spot directly in front of the grey Model X on the right is also blocked, because that charger is the one actually being used by POLINA. A car could park there, but no other cable will reach that spot so it's effectively blocked.
3. The spot directly behind 'POLINA' is also blocked, because enough of the car's rear end is intruding on the spot behind it to block out use of that charger.
There's been previous discussion about this problem in the Petaluma supercharger thread. Long story short, it's poorly laid out and lends itself to misuse-through-ignorance. Even just putting down concrete parking curbs would fix the problem.
⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️
Village Idiot
It's name is Polina. what do you expect? No, seriously though, it looks confusing. Tesla needs to do something about that.
thecloud
As rhythm raced inside, the ship came alive
Here's a thought. I remember a while back, there was a guy on the TM forums who was a kind of supercharger vigilante, trying to prevent ICE'ing of superchargers by blocking them with orange cones. An owner who needed to charge would just move the cone, but it was an effective deterrent if you were an ICE driver looking for a parking spot.
@Blu Zap, since you're in the neighborhood, maybe you could drop a few of these guys between the rows?
@Blu Zap, since you're in the neighborhood, maybe you could drop a few of these guys between the rows?
For an instant I was contemplating those "severe tire damage" spikes.
I can see the rationale for the layout...you can drive through the easternmost row of stalls (where POLINA and the foreground X are) to the westernmost row of stalls (where the background X is), so in many cases you don't have to back in to use the westernmost stalls. Also if you have an X with a trailer you can charge in one of the western stalls with your trailer in one of the eastern stalls, out of the traffic flow. I think that's the reason for not having curbs between the two rows.
However, the way it worked out, it's too hard for people to figure out (or more likely they just don't give a damn).
Honestly, I've charged here a few times, and if I hadn't already studied the pictures from TMC, I probably wouldn't have gotten it right on the first try either.Bruce.
Krugerrand
Meow
Hey guys, you have it right. POLINA drove in from the wrong side. The thing is there are two more Teslas charging there, including mine. All vehicles are pointed west and plugged into their respective charger. This is a 10 unit SuperCharger, 5 vehicles and one dude is taking up 3 spots. Not good if a couple of more Teslas show up.
POLINA does have a temporary registration sticker on the windshield. May be a new owner. I can understand him not knowing about charger pairing. But, really, no excuse for not lining up with all the other Teslas that are there.
POLINA does have a temporary registration sticker on the windshield. May be a new owner. I can understand him not knowing about charger pairing. But, really, no excuse for not lining up with all the other Teslas that are there.
Oh, one more thought. I ddi find out that Tesla does monitor these threads. I had posted previously some pics from a guy parking the same way at the Petaluma SC. He didn't want the sun in his eyes while he was charging. Long story short, I was talking with a Tesla engineer replacing charging cable in Mountain View. He knew all about the Petaluma situation. Apparently Tesla saw it on TMC and communicated it among the Tesla SC team.
We'll see if this gets anywhere. In this case the car was locked up and the owner was no where to be seen. Not good as this SC can fill up, especially on weekends. (wine country)
We'll see if this gets anywhere. In this case the car was locked up and the owner was no where to be seen. Not good as this SC can fill up, especially on weekends. (wine country)
EVie'sDad
Member
This is at least the second or third time in the past year this type of behavior has been reported at this stop, however given this is a refresh nose car, I will give the driver the benefit of the doubt and being a newbie.
On the other hand, how much could it cost to paint arrows like they did at the 20 stall supercharger just recently opened up in Norway?
Come up petaluma, straighten this debacle out. Spend the 20 bucks and paint in directional arrows, to help out the newbies and the near sighted who may inadvertantly pull in the wrong direction.
Thanks.
On the other hand, how much could it cost to paint arrows like they did at the 20 stall supercharger just recently opened up in Norway?
Come up petaluma, straighten this debacle out. Spend the 20 bucks and paint in directional arrows, to help out the newbies and the near sighted who may inadvertantly pull in the wrong direction.
Thanks.
I would cut that owner some slack. I'm sure that wasn't done to block anyone. That Supercharger can be confusing to new users (which that individual appeared to be) since some stalls are back in and some are drive in and there is nothing to stop you from driving through.
While the confusing layout sure is contributing to the problem, the fundamental problem here is Tesla's decision to have the charge port in the back - <drum roll> to mimic ICE cars. Dumb as a dodo decision that is haunting all of us in various scenarios.
I face the effects of this nonsense of a design everyday in my office parking lot where the parking slots are angled and it is extremely difficult to reverse park. And if you don't reverse park the cables are not long enough to reach the charge port. So you have this situation where in the morning, some idiot Tesla driver takes forever to reverse into the angled slot - which he is not supposed to do in the first place - to save a few pennies on free electricity at office, while a dozen cars are stuck behind him waiting to finish his stupid parking maneuver.
Great idea Elon, mimicking ICE cars. My foot.
As a result I never plug in, unless I really need the juice, which is almost never.
I face the effects of this nonsense of a design everyday in my office parking lot where the parking slots are angled and it is extremely difficult to reverse park. And if you don't reverse park the cables are not long enough to reach the charge port. So you have this situation where in the morning, some idiot Tesla driver takes forever to reverse into the angled slot - which he is not supposed to do in the first place - to save a few pennies on free electricity at office, while a dozen cars are stuck behind him waiting to finish his stupid parking maneuver.
Great idea Elon, mimicking ICE cars. My foot.
As a result I never plug in, unless I really need the juice, which is almost never.
Yes! The Nissan Leaf and Kia Soul have the charging port in the best location. Tesla put theirs in back due to the rear wheel drive.
Not sure what RWD has to do with having charge port in the back. I remember reading distinctly here that it was done to have the same experience as an ICE car. I expect GM to make such stupid decisions, but Tesla?
And Chevy Volt too..
aesculus
Still Trying to Figure This All Out
That's a great idea. Maybe even better would be the outline of a car with a steering wheel so you knew which was was forward.
Speak for yourself, not for "all of us". In my 3 years and 51,000 miles of ownership I have never had a problem with the location of the Tesla charge port and never once wanted it to be located at the front center of the car. But your experience has obviously been different from mine.
By the way, dodos are extinct. Curiously, Tesla is selling more and more cars every year. What a contrast...
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