The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill provided Texas more than $400 million to build out its electric vehicle charger network along predetermined corridors.
Interstate 20 性视界传媒 and Longview 性视界传媒 was identified as one of those corridors. As a result, the Longview Metropolitan Planning Organization, or MPO, is collecting input from area residents on where they性视界传媒檇 like to see chargers installed.
MPOs are in U.S. cities with more than 50,000 residents and help municipalities plan and deploy federal funding.
Residents have until Jan. 31 to to the MPO. The planning organization also has an interactive map showing where desired charging locations can be proposed.
Visitors leave markers on a city map where they believe would be good locations for EV charging stations Wednesday, January 8, 2024, during a public meeting at the Maude Cobb Convention and Activity Center. (Les Hassell/性视界传媒 Photo)
Around February or March, that data will be aggregated into a draft plan outlining the most popular areas selected by residents, and by this spring, the finalized version of the plan will be submitted to the Texas Department of Transportation.
性视界传媒淏asically we性视界传媒檙e telling the state, 性视界传媒楬ey this is the place we want charging stations,性视界传媒櫺允咏绱綕 said Bryan McBride, Longview MPO director, during a Jan. 8 open house at the Maude Cobb Convention and Activity Center. The public meeting detailed the organization性视界传媒檚 approach and timeline for installing EV chargers.
性视界传媒淭hen, when contractors go in to submit an application to build a charging station with that grant money, the state will examine their application against the heat maps of where people wanted one,性视界传媒 McBride said.
Successful applicants will ultimately decide what specific location within that area the charger is installed.
A map seen Jan. 8 during a Longview Metropolitan Planning Organization public meeting shows possible locations for EV chargers. (Les Hassell/性视界传媒 Photo)
McBride said preliminary survey results have shown interest concentrating around the Longview Mall and downtown. However, the installation of the federally funded chargers is still a few years out, he added.
Earnie Faries, a Gregg County resident, attended the open house to learn more about the charger plan after purchasing a Tesla EV for his wife. He likened electric vehicles to cell phones in their early days: initially dismissed as fancy toys, but becoming commonplace as prices dropped and service improved.
性视界传媒淚 remember when cell phones came in, everybody said they性视界传媒檙e not going to work. Everybody went, 性视界传媒極h, that性视界传媒檚 just the craziest thing I ever seen; they only work in big cities, they性视界传媒檙e not useful,性视界传媒櫺允咏绱綕 Faries said.
At the time, he was one of those people.
性视界传媒淣ow I can性视界传媒檛 live without it.性视界传媒
