Re: Possible electric vehicle and infrastructure funding through BAAQM
Bruce England
I had a question related to Yoriko's comment in the attached article:
"The air district is coordinating a Bay Area-wide effort to get some
federal stimulus funding so we can become ground zero for an electric
car infrastructure second to none."
I looked for more information on the BAAQM web site but came up
empty. I connected with Ralph Borrmann at BAAQM
(rbor...@baaqmd.gov, 415-749-4791) and he mentioned grant funds
that might be available from them that Mountain View can apply for,
and which could be applied to a "high-level electric vehicle program"
(this could include fleet vehicle conversions and charging station
implementation, for example). However, as it turns out, no federal
stimulus funding is forthcoming through the BAAQM.
You can contact Ralph with your questions if you are interested in
pursuing this or if it fits with existing greenhouse gas emission
goals for the City of Mountain View. Naturally, I hope that you will.
Regards,
Bruce England
Green Mountain View, co-chair
************
Up, down and around the Peninsula with Yoriko
By Yoriko Kishimoto
Special to the Daily News
Published Friday, May 22, 2009, by the Peninsula Daily News
With roller-coaster gasoline prices, a plummeting economy, and bike-to-work
campaigns, you are probably being challenged on your daily commute and shopping
habits.
And yet more changes are coming to the Peninsula. Rail commuters will see
Caltrain electrification, BART, high-speed rail. Drivers using Highway 101 will
see auxiliary lanes, ramp metering, and HOT (high occupancy toll) lanes.
Cyclists will see an injection of funding into regional bike facilities and
pilot bike share programs.
Many people tell me they are skeptical that people will ever part with their
daily commute habits. But last century saw major shifts from
horse-drawn buggies
to trolleys to automobiles. With change the only constant, we can be sure that
in 2049 or 2109, the way we get around town or around the world will surely not
be as it is today.
Transportation issues have been my passion for many years and now I
serve on the
Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) board and as chair of the climate
protection committee for the nine-county Bay Area Air Quality Management
District. Here is your chance to ask what's on the top of your mind. I won't be
the official spokesperson for the agencies but will do my best to respond to
factual questions and add my subjective interpretation as well. And once the
question is out there, I know readers will kick in lots of data that I don't
know.
Here are a few questions I received to kick off this column.
Q: Are there going to be more electric vehicle incentives/parking spots/plugs
around town?
A: Yes, there are many people working hard to develop more "fueling stations"
for electric vehicles all over the Bay Area. There are still different
strategies, such as swapping batteries and quick-charge. The air district is
coordinating a Bay Area-wide effort to get some federal stimulus funding so we
can become ground zero for an electric car infrastructure second to none.
Evolving to more electric vehicles should be coordinated with the evolution to
smart grids and more diverse generation of electricity.
Q: What is the status of rideshare programs in Palo Alto?
A: There's rideshare and carshare.
Rideshare: This data is old, from the 2000 census, but 10-11 percent of
commuters carpooled in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. Federal tax-free
incentives for vanpoolers can be as high as $230 per month if your employer
offers incentive programs. Ask your boss about it.
Carshare: This is a system where you can sign up for an hour or half a day and
pay by the mile and hour -- much cheaper than owning and maintaining
a second or
third car. Stanford University has Zip Car, and Channing House in Palo Alto is
considering hosting a Zip Car site.
Q: Why can't we have free shuttles all around town? Wouldn't they be cheaper
than parking garages and traffic police, and reduce emissions? How
could we plan
for this when our budget improves?
A: Shuttles used to cost about $140,000 per line per year and construction of
one parking space in a downtown parking structure costs about $60,000, plus
hundreds of dollars in annual maintenance costs. So yes, shuttles can be quite
competitive. One problem is that there are financing structures in place for a
parking structure -- parking assessment districts -- but not as established a
financing mechanism for funding shuttles. Currently, Palo Alto gets
some funding
from vehicle registration fees, the city general fund and our partner
the school
district. VTA also runs a great community bus, which collects nominal fares but
is subsidized by our sales taxes.
Q: Are Segways legal here? Why not if not?
A: They have a legal status as an assistive mobility device, meaning that a
person can use it where pedestrians are allowed. Palo Alto hasn't adopted a
special ordinance for or against Segways. They can be used on sidewalks.
Yoriko Kishimoto is a member and past mayor of the Palo Alto City Council and
serves on Valley Transportation Authority's Board of Directors and the Bay Area
Air Quality Management District Board's climate protection committee.