Robert Creenan | robert.creenan@niagara-gazette.com | July 16, 2023
Niagara Falls residents and visitors now have an option closer to the heart of things for charging electric vehicles.
The Parkway Condominium complex on Buffalo Avenue is home to the newest EV chargers in the city. The four stations in the building’s parking lot are meant for both residents and tourists in the city’s downtown core.
The level two chargers are universally compatible, capable of 25 miles per hour of charging, depending on the battery, and cost users around $5 per charge. Prior to these, the nearest station for residents were at the Niagara Falls train station. Niagara Falls State Park has stations in the Prospect Street lot and on Goat Island and a Tesla station is at the Red Coach Inn.
Allen Booker, president of the Parkway Condominium Homeowners Association, said this has been in the works for the past two years as the condo board wanted to improve the amenities available. One member suggested EV stations due to trends of everything being electrified.
“There were some people in the building asking if we were ever going to get any charging stations, because there are some people that really wanted to buy electric vehicles,” Booker said. “And that’s kind of how our decision was made.”
To find chargers to install, the condo board reached out to Livingston Energy Group, a Schenectady-based company that has installed 2,000 charging stations across the state. Kate Kruk, Livingston’s director of community engagement, said they were excited the Parkway team recognizes that 80% of EV drivers charge at home.
“Western New York is lacking in a lot of infrastructure,” Kruk said as most of the area’s stations are in Buffalo and its surrounding suburbs. “EV infrastructure I coming this way slowly but surely.”
The complex also received more than $10,000 in funding from National Grid’s Make-Ready Incentive program, which reduces the cost of installing this infrastructure.
Travelers looking for the nearest station to charge at can find these through the Livingston charging port phone app, which lists all of their stations statewide.
The chargers have been open for public use since April. According to the website PlugShare.com, there are currently 32 charging stations in Niagara County.
Source: https://www.niagara-gazette.com/news/local_news/parkway-condominiums-unveil-ev-chargers/article_94383d14-0b9b-11ee-9e75-1741561e5626.html