ANN ARBOR, Mich. – A significant complaint often heard from electric vehicle drivers is the struggle to hook up and charge. Ann Arbor is making that more accessible by adding EV chargers to utility poles.
There are curbside chargers around the state, and Ann Arbor is the first city in Michigan to mount them to utility poles. There’s a charger on North Ingalls Street across from the University of Michigan School of Nursing.
Other utility pole EV chargers can be found using Flo or ChargerPoint apps.
Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor told Local 4 that curbside charging addresses barriers for renters who already have or are interested in transitioning to an electric vehicle.
“Ann Arbor has over 50% of folks who live in rental situations, multi-family units who don’t have control, they can’t put a charger on a single-family home,” said Taylor. “We are incredibly excited about rolling out this kind of technology throughout the city where we can, as we can. It’s going to be a location-specific decision based on the life history of the pole, the availability of electricity on the wire, but where we can, as we can; this is something we are excited to do.”
The project is funded by an Energy Sponsorship Grant from the state’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE).
Taylor said not only do those curbside chargers cost less to install than ground-mounted EV chargers, but they also get them closer to the city’s A2ZERO path to carbon neutrality by transitioning more people from gas vehicles to electric vehicles.