http://juneauempire.com/local/2015-09-17/event-showcase-electric-vehicles Event to showcase electric vehicles September 17, 2015 - By SAM DeGRAVE
[image / Michael Penn http://jun-cdn.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/story_slideshow_thumb/14735010.jpg A charging station for two electric cars is in the parking lot of the new Mendenhall Valley Public Library ] Electric vehicles owners, enthusiasts and aspiring drivers from across the country, and in a few other countries as well, are gathering en masse at events celebrating National Drive Electric Week. Before the week is finished, Juneau residents, too, will have a chance to participate in the electric-vehicle hype. On Saturday, several electric-vehicle owners will gather at the Mendenhall Wetlands turnout on Egan Drive to take a group picture with their cars. However, the event’s organizers encourage anyone interested in learning about electric vehicles to attend. According to National Drive Electric Week’s webpage, the 196 events associated with it are supposed to “heighten awareness” about the availability of electric vehicles and their benefits. “This is the perfect chance for anybody interested in electric vehicles to come out and talk to the people who drive them every day,” said Duff Mitchell, one of the event’s organizers and an electric vehicle owner. “It costs me more to buy a pack of good beer than it does to run my vehicle around town all month.” Cost is only one of the benefits of electric vehicle ownership that Mitchell said he plans to share with any eventgoers who may be interested in going electric. According to Duff, Juneau is the “ideal spot for electric vehicles” because the battery range of vehicles isn’t as big a deterrent as it may be in cities with more miles of road. Michele Elfers, another of the event’s organizers, said she hopes the event will help expose attendees to the various vehicles on the market. After deciding she was interested in purchasing an electric car, Elfers checked out a friend’s Nissan Leaf. She ultimately decided to go with the electric version of the Ford Focus rather than the Leaf, but to do so, she had to go out on a limb because there was nowhere in town to test drive an electric Focus. Elfers said this event will give prospective electric vehicle owners a chance to see a wide range of options available. Duff said he hopes the event will serve as more than an educational experience, however. He sees a historical value to it as well. Duff first got the idea for the event after looking through old photos of Juneau. “I was going through and looking at pictures of people with Model Ts and other early cars here in Juneau, and I thought it would be pretty cool to have a photo of the electric vehicle people here before there are 300 of us,” Mitchell said. “One-hundred fifty years from now, people can look back at the first people who had electric vehicles here.” Currently, Juneau is far from having 300 electric vehicles. Mitchell has been trying to keep a list of all of the electric vehicles in town, and so far that list contains 25 vehicles. However, Mitchell knows his list is a little light, and estimates there are between 30 and 50 electric vehicles in Juneau. What’s more, that number is growing quickly. Two years ago, Juneau had very few electric vehicles, and the city is becoming increasingly electric-vehicle friendly. By Duff’s count, there are five charging stations located throughout Juneau, and several more on the way. The new Valley Library, for instance, will have a charging station. Saturday’s event begins at 3 p.m. “I think, at the base of it, this event is about why electric cars are good for Juneau,” Elfers said. [© juneauempire.com] https://driveelectricweek.org/event.php?eventid=480 Location: Mendenhall Wetlands State Game Refuge Egan Turnoff 58.353140, -134.512100 Juneau, AK 99801 On Saturday, Sept 19th at 3:00 PM there will be a gathering of plug-in electric vehicle drivers at the Mendenhall Wetlands viewpoint at Mile 6 Egan Drive. Between 3:00 - 4:00 PM, there will be information available to the public about the benefits of driving electric, actual drivers on hand to answer questions, and at 4:30 PM a panoramic photo of EV’s in Juneau will be taken. Plug-In EV Drivers: Please bring your plug-in electric vehicle to the Mendenhall Wetlands turnoff at Mile 6 on Egan Drive to share your experience driving your EV with folks considering making the switch to a plug-in vehicle and to participate in the panorama. If you plan to attend, please register ahead of time. Afterwards, everyone is invited to TK Maguire's. [© 2015 by Plug In America] ... https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=plugshare.com+99801 Nearby EVSE For EVLN posts use: http://news.gmane.org/gmane.recreation.cars.evdl http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/UPDATED-Silicon-Valley-EVs-DeAnza-NDEW-10a-3p-9-19-Cupertino-CA-tp4677575.html UPDATED: Silicon Valley EVs @DeAnza NDEW 10a-3p 9/19 Cupertino-CA {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVent-Plugins-Mendenhall-Wetlands-viewpoint-3-4p-9-19-Juneau-AK-tp4677644.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
