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snorpleblot t1_j0tsti6 wrote

This is a really important question. EVs are the future. We are crossing the tipping point where the total cost of ownership is better. Cambridge residents embrace technology and sustainability and have the resources to be early adopters. However owning them without a garage or driveway is not feasible.

I have a hard time predicting how and when EVs will become an obvious choice in towns where everyone parks on the street. Will the town make the huge investment in infrastructure? It doesn’t feel like a priority to me compared to public transportation and other investment priorities. Will grocery stores become charging locations? Why aren’t they yet? What is taking them so long?

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Helen___Keller t1_j0uhfnj wrote

From a city investment PoV, investing in other modes pays off vastly better. Most investment in roads and parking gets used largely by non residents.

If anything, the state should be the one funding EV infrastructure. As a Cambridge resident I don’t want the city budget spent supporting EVs driving in from Lexington, but we’re all MA residents so it makes sense in the state budget.

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maxwellb t1_j0w0qol wrote

There was a story a few months ago about a city that added charging cables to electrical poles as a cost effective implementation. I could see that working out well here, but at the same time it got a lot of pushback when it was reposted in my local hipster square fb group on the grounds that supporting any sort of car is unacceptable. So I doubt it would actually happen (and I'm stuck with my combustion engine for the foreseeable future).

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