SEATTLE – The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) today announced a new pilot permit program that will allow publicly-available electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in the public right-of-way. This is the first time EV’s will have the capability of recharging on city streets.
SDOT has issued new EV charging permit requirements as part of a year-long, pilot permit program called the Electric Vehicle Charging in the Public Right of Way (EVCROW) program. The EVCROW pilot permit program tackles several city priorities, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other sources of air pollution, encouraging growth in EVs in Seattle, and further signaling to the private sector that Seattle welcomes investment in innovative new mobility solutions.
“Climate change is a serious threat to Seattle and transportation electrification is an important tool to combat it,” said SDOT Director Scott Kubly. “This pilot is a new approach to allow charging stations in the public right-of-way. We’re using permits to allow us to move faster than the traditional approach of procuring equipment, while still meeting our terms and needs. We hope this pilot program will serve as a model for other cities across the country.”
The pilot permit program, which launched Tuesday, July 18, allows public and private EV charging infrastructure providers to install EV charging stations on non-residential streets within Seattle’s urban villages, urban centers, and commercial streets, so long as they avoid transit lanes and other future transportation projects. This program is SDOT’s first step in a multi-pronged process to develop right-of-way charging policies citywide.
“Over two-thirds of Seattle’s carbon pollution comes from transportation,” said Jessica Finn Coven, Director of the Office of Sustainability and Environment. “Meaningful action on climate change requires us to use less oil. By enabling greater investment in EV charging, we will increase the adoption of EVs and accelerate the transition to a clean transportation economy.”
The City launched the Drive Clean Seattle initiative in 2016 to help leverage Seattle City Light’s carbon neutral electricity across the transportation sector and accelerate the city’s transition away from oil. Among other things, the initiative aims for 30 percent of all light duty vehicles registered in Seattle to be electric by the year 2030. This year, the City is installing hundreds of charging stations for the City’s municipal fleet and Seattle City Light will begin construction of twenty publicly available fast chargers throughout the City. EVCROW is the next step for Drive Clean Seattle.
To learn more about EVCROW, click here.