Charging Station Protocol?

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by ny_rob, Oct 18, 2012.

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  1. ny_rob

    ny_rob Senior Member

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    Have owned the PIP for a week now- so this plug in stuff is new to me...

    There's a free public ChargePoint station in the parking lot adjacent to where I work. It has one 240v cord and an outlet for your own 120v charge cable.
    I've used it for a few days now upon arriving at work- it's a sweet arrangement- Less than a one min walk away from my front door at the job. I plug in at 9:am and walk back there at 10:30 and move my car back to my regular parking spot.

    Anyway, the first day I pulled up to the ChargePoint station (the only one in the parking lot) at 8:45am there was a non-plug-in car parked in one of the two parking positions in front of the charging station. The right side parking slot was open so I parked there and was able to charge my car. This morning at 8:45am there was a pickup truck parked in the left parking slot in front of the charge station- again the right slot was open so I was able to park and recharge. I've noticed each day after my charge is complete at 10:30am and I move my car from the charging station parking slot- it's been quickly filled by non-plug-in vehicles for the rest of the afternoon- literally rendering it useless for anyone who wants to charge their vehicle.

    There is a green sign posted in on the grass median between the charge station and the two parking slots that states "Parking for electric vehicle charging" or something to that effect. If it matters- this charging station is in the Riverhead Supreme Court parking lot. I believe that a lot of the parking in that lot is juror cars from out of town, once their case is over- they won't be back for another 6 years, so leaving a note on their windshield probably isn't going to be effective.
    My question is- what to do when I need a charge and the only two parking slots in front of the charging station are filled by non-plug-in vehicles?
     
    #1 ny_rob, Oct 18, 2012
  2. Susan4ET

    Susan4ET Member

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    Call security? Maybe these charging locations are going to need a fine if improperly used like handicapped spots? Right now I suspect you are just sol?
     
    #2 Susan4ET, Oct 18, 2012
  3. chesleyn

    chesleyn Active Member

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    Not sure if you have the same laws in NY that we have in California. Here, it is supposedly illegal to park in a charging station, however not all locations enforce the law. If it is government property, I would complain to the management or to a police officer, as they can actually ticket someone for doing that on public property (in California).
     
    #3 chesleyn, Oct 18, 2012
  4. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

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    Being that you're in "State grounds", you can call security and then State Park Police to take an act and probably they can call a "Tow Truck" because of this vehicles are obstructing an necessity for other alternative fueled vehicles.
    I had done similar thing in the Tow of Babylon Phelps Lane public pool. Mini Van moms do like to parks wherever they want and that's not fair.
     
    #4 mrbigh, Oct 18, 2012
  5. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    It would be nice if the management added a sign which read "Others will be Towed"

    People do stuff like this because they think they can get away with it.
     
    #5 Rebound, Oct 22, 2012
  6. ny_rob

    ny_rob Senior Member

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    Well- they can and do get away with it!

    This morning at 8:45am there was a Lexus SUV parked in one of the two ChargePoint parking spots- meanwhile the rest of the regular parking spots to the left of the charging station were 100% unoccupied. This nice person-half just wanted to get a spot closest to the door of the courthouse and didn't care that there's a sign for "Electric Vehicle Recharging" planted directly in front of the spot where he/she parked.


    Very frustrating....
     
    #6 ny_rob, Oct 22, 2012
  7. mrbigh

    mrbigh Prius Absolutum Dominium

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    Ohhh, in certain circumstance I could be so bad nice person .......:cautious:
     
    #7 mrbigh, Oct 22, 2012
  8. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    How about a note that says, "Tow truck is on the way."

    Or maybe, "Tow Truck: This is the vehicle I called you to tow." (And sign a phony name).

    That'll definitely get them to avoid it next time.
     
    #8 Rebound, Oct 22, 2012
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  9. ny_rob

    ny_rob Senior Member

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    It's a Supreme Court parking lot- Temping as it may be, I won't be touching anyone's vehicle...

    So far (one full weeks use) and I haven't been blocked out of a spot yet, mainly because I get there a few min before the lot starts filling up. If I ever needed an afternoon charge I'd have to get security involved because the two spots are 100% filled every weekday by ICE vehicles all day after I leave at 10:30. I've never seen a plug-in vehicle actually parked in the ChargePoint spots- just ICE vehicles.
     
    #9 ny_rob, Oct 22, 2012
  10. Rebound

    Rebound Senior Member

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    Most of those vehicles are attorneys. I'm sure they'll think twice about walking into court to explain to the judge that they parked illegally in the judge's parking lot.
     
    #10 Rebound, Oct 22, 2012
  11. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

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    Right. The justices and other "important" people will have their own parking. It's the staff and the attorneys that you are contending with.
     
    #11 CharlesH, Oct 22, 2012
  12. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    :giggle:
     
    #12 hill, Oct 22, 2012
  13. ny_rob

    ny_rob Senior Member

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    Suffolk County Supreme Court.
    Here's a photo of it from PlugShare-
    Note even in this photo there's an ICE vehicle parked in front of the charger. This photo is from last year when they were building the new courthouse. Now there's a green sign stating "ELECTRIC VEHICLE RECHARGING" in front of those two parking slots on either side of the charging station.
    ChargePoint.jpg
     
    #13 ny_rob, Oct 22, 2012
  14. priuskitty

    priuskitty PIP FAN

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    GUILTY!!!!!!!!!
     
    #14 priuskitty, Oct 22, 2012
  15. John H

    John H Senior Member

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    I would grab a can of GREEN paint and paint the two parking spots. When people are parking they don't see the sign or recognize what the charging station is. Even when they do, with the charging station in the center they rationalize that there is still another spot for an EV to park.

    I come across the same problem at an under marked walmart. The security patrol has now started putting a green cone in the two spots, which actually seems to be working. Yes, I have to jump out and move the cone to the side and then pull in, but it's better than being ICE'd.

    oh.... and I put an EV brochure onto the windshield of any ICE that is parked in an EV spot. I need to get some official looking tyvek envelopes with "Today's Remedy for Plug Envy" printed in big GREEN type.
     
    #15 John H, Oct 22, 2012
  16. chesleyn

    chesleyn Active Member

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    Cones work the best. Very few fatties pull their large bodies out of their SUVs to move a cone to park.


    iPhone ?
     
    #16 chesleyn, Oct 22, 2012
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  17. ny_rob

    ny_rob Senior Member

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    This morning there was a CRV parked in one of the Chargepoint spots- the other was still open, I'm charging from it as I type. The row where the ChargePoint station is has room for 7 cars- 5 ICE spots and two EV spots. Again this morning, 7 spots were available- and the CRV was parked in front of one of the two ChargePoint parking spots when he/she could have taken any of the other 5 non-EVt spots.

    I like the cone idea- I'll have to see how it goes in regards to getting 'ICE'd'.... It's only my 2nd week using the station and I haven't been blocked out yet.
     
    #17 ny_rob, Oct 23, 2012
  18. John H

    John H Senior Member

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    Can you grab a more recent photo, especially with the signs? Your earlier description of the signs didn't indicate that the parking spaces were reserved for EVs. You might want to ask for a more explicit sign.

    [​IMG]
     
    #18 John H, Oct 23, 2012
  19. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    This is the same kind of sign used by General Electric chargers. Wattstations. I think they're written poorly - because the words no parking should stand out. For example ;
    "No Parking -
    except while charging"

    SGH-I717R ? 2
     
    #19 hill, Oct 23, 2012
  20. ny_rob

    ny_rob Senior Member

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    Yeah, will do.
    Was thinking of keeping a camera in the car and snapping a photo every morning when an non-EV car(s) is parked in the EV-charging spots.... to build my case if I need to present evidence to the lot manager.
     
    #20 ny_rob, Oct 23, 2012
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