Category: News Blog

First Memphis managed to elbow its way into ECOtality North America’s six-state electric vehicle project and now it’s on the verge of getting 69 charging stations.

After initially favoring Knoxville, Chattanooga, and Nashville for the demonstration project that seeks to accelerate use of electric cars, Memphis signed on to the initiative in February. The project is funded by a $99.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and also includes Arizona, California, Oregon, Texas, and Washington.

Today, members of the Bartlett, Collierville, Germantown, and Memphis planning departments briefed their mayors about where they think the charging stations should be.

These are the proposed locations:

Bartlett
– Bartlett Boulevard/Malco West
– Kirby-Whitten/Stage
– Schnucks
– Kirby-Whitten/Hollywood Cinema
– Bartlett Performing Arts Center/Recreation Center
– Saint Francis Bartlett Hospital/Malco/Hotel area
– Malco Wolfchase
– Walmart

Collierville
– Town Square
– Collierville Middle School
– Collierville United Methodist Church
– Carrier Air Conditioning
– Schilling Office Park
– FedEx Technology Center
– Courtyard Marriott
– Central Church
– Baptist Memorial Hospital
– Collierville Town Hall
– Collierville Malco
– First Baptist Church
– Collierville Community Center
– Collierville High School
– W. C. Johnson Park

Germantown
– Germantown Performing Arts Centre
– Municipal Center
– Germantown Library
– Pickering Center
– Methodist Hospital
– Baptist Rehabilitation
– Forest Hill/Poplar Shopping
– Carrefour Center
– Germantown/Poplar Shopping
– Germantown Village Square
– Germantown Collection
– Exeter Village
– Saddle Creek/Saddle Creek South

Memphis
– Mississippi Greenbelt Park
– Peabody Place/Hotel
– National Civil Rights Museum
– Rhodes College
– Union at Cooper/Overton Square
– Christian Brothers University
– Tiger Lane
– Oak Court Mall/Laurelwood
– Botanic Garden/Audubon Park
– Racquet Club of Memphis
– Malco Paradiso
– Shelby Farms Park
– Wolfchase Galleria Mall
– I-40/Arlington
– FedEx Headquarters
– Hickory Ridge Mall
– Baptist Hospital
– Saint Francis Hospital
– Memphis International Airport
– Soulsville/Stax Museum
– St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
– Memphis Zoo/Brooks Museum of Art
– Pink Palace Museum
– Dixon Gallery and Gardens
– Theatre Memphis
– Lichterman Nature Center
– Medical Center/UT
– Agricenter International
– MLGW (six locations)
– Millington Library
– Frayser Library
– Raleigh Library
– Randolph Library
– Benjamin L. Hooks Library
– East Shelby Library
– Whitehaven Library
– Bert Ferguson Library

In addition to these public charging stations, anyone who buys the new Nissan LEAF electric car or the Chevrolet Volt hybrid gets a free home charger.

After months of delays, it’s almost certain that Memphis Fire Services will be able to get the eight alternative response vehicles (ARVs) it first proposed buying in January.

Thomas Malone, a district field service representative for the International Fire Fighters Association Local 1784, reversed the union’s position against the vehicles during a city council committee meeting Tuesday, citing a “spirit of cooperation.”

“I think [this issue] has been beat up enough and extended enough,” he said. “We have bigger fish to fry right now.”

Some of those fish include budget contraints and a continuing controversy over city pension funding.

Now that the fire department and union have agreed to go ahead with the ARV purchase, the proposal will go before the full council for a single vote today.

“It appears it’s going to pass,” said councilman Jim Strickland, chair of the Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee.

The ARVs, which respond to medical emergencies only, cost $62,500 apiece and could save the fire department anywhere from $4,000 to $17,000 a year in fuel, maintenance and other costs.

However, the vehicles can’t transport victims to the hospital or fight fires, facts union members have clung to since the ARV proposal first came up on Jan. 4th. They would have preferred to buy full-fledged trucks that are more versatile in emergencies, but those same trucks can cost $500,000 or more.

Councilman Kemp Conrad, who sympathized with safety and other concerns, reminded everyone of the city’s fiscal crisis and said ARVs ultimately are better than nothing.

“Let’s not let perfect get in the way of good,” he said. “I think this is a way we can keep our folks in the field doing what they’re doing.”

However, Strickland said he’s still not convinced the ARVs represent a significant cost savings. He had requested an analysis of capital and operating savings from the fire department, but never got them.

“If things go well [with the ARVs], you’d want eight more?” he asked fire department director Alvin Benson.

“If funding is available,” Benson answered.

If the ARV proposal passes today, the union’s next step might be introducing a resolution to buy better apparatus.

“This can come back up at a later time when we’re financially more sound,” Malone said.