At their meeting on Wednesday, June 28, 2017, the City Council of Jersey City will have the rare opportunity to create history while promoting a healthy and stable environment and encouraging drivers to reduce carbon emissions. A new Jersey City Ordinance has been submitted for Council approval and is on the verge of passing to create a first-of its-kind-in-New Jersey electric vehicle (EV) charging station “zone” for electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles. Only a handful of other municipalities across the country, such as Palo Alto, California, have enacted similar legislation for EV protected zones, and the trend is growing.
Public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations were introduced to the Powerhouse Arts District of Jersey City in 2014. The 10 curbside EV charging stations with 19 arms were installed for use by the public and were some of the first to be offered curbside in an urban setting on the East Coast, placing Jersey City at the forefront of the movement towards eco-friendly travel.
The response to the EV charging stations was immediate and charging sessions have grown considerably since they were first introduced. Just over 30 sessions were recorded in June 2016, which grew significantly to nearly 150 sessions in May of 2017, showing an increase in usage of almost 400% in less than one year. During the course of the past year, the benefit of the charging stations to the environment is indisputable, with 9998 KG of greenhouse gases saved and 2987 gallons of gas saved from more than 4000 total EV charge-ups — this is equivalent to taking 5.6 gas fueled cars off the road for one year. The EV charging stations are located outside The Oakman at 160 1st Street and The Art House at 148 1st Street and continue to be used by EV drivers in Jersey City.
Along with the EV charging stations came the first available EV car sharing program in Jersey City offered by Maven™, General Motors’ personal mobility brand. Jersey City is the first Maven City car sharing presence in the New York Metropolitan area, providing access to the Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid vehicle that can be reserved through the Maven mobile app. Since its inception in October 2016, Jersey City has been one of Maven’s top locations.
“Following Mayor Fulop’s commitment to uphold the Paris Climate Agreement Goals, City Council’s passage of an EV ordinance for Jersey City will be awesome,” said Debra Italiano, founder of SustainableJC.org. “Greenhouse gas emission reduction is the main objective of the accord, and an EV infrastructure to support electric vehicle expansion in Jersey City will be a key ingredient toward meeting those 2025 goals. Sustainable JC is pleased to support the initiative that brought 10 curbside EV charging stations downtown and introduced the Maven EV car sharing program. We are all very excited about the prospect of deploying additional charging stations throughout the City and hope the community supports this important initiative.”
Environmentally conscious members of the public are encouraged to show their support of Ordinance 17-075 and the future expansion of the EV charging station program around Jersey City at the upcoming City Council meeting being held on Wednesday June 28, 2017 in the Anna and Anthony R. Cucci Memorial Council Chambers at City Hall located at 280 Grove Street, Jersey City, New Jersey.
Use hashtag #EVinJC to share your support of the ordinance.
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About Sustainable Jersey City
Sustainable Jersey City is a collaborative network of green community groups and individuals within Jersey City who have come together to move the city toward a more sustainable future.
By focusing on community partnerships and neighborhood actions, Sustainable Jersey City has built relationships with many neighborhoods, businesses, governmental and private organizations, and has developed a broad platform for community engagement, brought resources to stakeholder groups for green neighborhood initiatives and structured a framework for ongoing civic leadership and sustainability focused educational opportunities.
Sustainable JC has been developing and executing innovative demonstration projects with success all over Jersey City since 2011 and is especially interested to work with green economy businesses to develop hi-impact initiatives for Jersey City.
More information about the organization can be found at SustainableJC.org
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