Before winter break started, part of the sidewalk on College Way between the McCormick and Walter residence halls was blocked off. A crew was working to install two electric car charging stations. These stations use the Blink Network and are specifically designed for electric cars as an alternative fuel to gasoline.
While the aspect of sustainability that these electric car chargers provide goes hand-in-hand with Pacific’s commitment to being green, it wasn’t the university that had them installed.
According to the Engineering Manager of the Light & Power Department for the City of Forest Grove Richard Matzke, the city decided to install six charging stations at three different locations around Forest Grove: on Council Street near City Hall, on College Way near Knight Hall and on 21st Avenue near the movie theater.
The chargers on Council Street have electric service but have not been commissioned, while the College Way chargers have yet to receive electric service. No chargers have been installed by the movie theater yet.
The charging stations that were added to Forest Grove are a part of the Electric Vehicle Project.
According to their website, www.theevproject.com, “Each Nissan EV saves as much as 436 gallons of gasoline per year compared to a comparable internal-combustion engine Sedan.”
In addition to reducing fossil fuels by not using gasoline, it saves the car-owner money. It only costs between $0.50 and $1.50 a day for a 24-hour charge.
By adding these charging stations to Forest Grove, the city has ensured that the community will become more accessible to those with electric cars.
“Once the charging stations are in service, the city would like to have a ribbon-cutting-type ceremony to celebrate and promote the project,” said Matzke. “We are thinking that the College Way location would be the preferred site for the ceremony and would like for Pacific University to be involved.”
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