Balboa Park Charging Stations

[jcesare]

ECOtality recently did a presentation to the Balboa Park Committee about EVSE installation.

I'm a former museum president so I made a few inquires about locations and was sent a link with the meeting agenda item, complete with maps of proposed sites. It also states that the Zoo lot has its own plan, separate from this.

http://www.sandiego.gov/park-and-recreation/pdf/110407item501.pdf

 

[syntaxerror]

You may want to inform Ms. Hasenauer of Ecotality's track record with current Leaf owners. Poor quality, device security minus, no EV Project participant tokens distributed, etc...I think Ecotality is at least 4-6 months from getting the public charging launched. The ones at Torrey Pines have residental firmware on them....

 

[davewill]

This will be great. I visit the park frequently, and having charging available will be a great incentive to visit still more.

 

[jcesare]

You may want to inform Ms. Hasenauer of Ecotality's track record with current Leaf owners. Poor quality, device security minus, no EV Project participant tokens distributed, etc...I think Ecotality is at least 4-6 months from getting the public charging launched. The ones at Torrey Pines have residental firmware on them....

I don't expect the see any until next year. By then they may have their act together.

 

[lonndoggie]

You may want to inform Ms. Hasenauer of Ecotality's track record with current Leaf owners. Poor quality, device security minus, no EV Project participant tokens distributed, etc...I think Ecotality is at least 4-6 months from getting the public charging launched. The ones at Torrey Pines have residental firmware on them....

Where in the Torrey Pines area are these?

 

[opencar]

This will be great. I visit the park frequently, and having charging available will be a great incentive to visit still more.

same here. hey davewill - i notice you are a fellow carmel valley resident. wouldn't happen to have a silver leaf i happened to see last week charging in a driveway?

 

[davewill]

This will be great. I visit the park frequently, and having charging available will be a great incentive to visit still more.

same here. hey davewill - i notice you are a fellow carmel valley resident. wouldn't happen to have a silver leaf i happened to see last week charging in a driveway?

Sadly, no. I'm still waiting for mine...So, was that yours I saw driving past Torrey Hills Shopping Center a couple of weeks ago?

 

[TRONZ]

Balboa Park is exciting but is 76 miles away. That is just outside my freeway loaded with the family comfort zone. Definitely will need a small boost somewhere there and back.

 

[jcesare]

You may want to inform Ms. Hasenauer of Ecotality's track record with current Leaf owners. Poor quality, device security minus, no EV Project participant tokens distributed, etc...I think Ecotality is at least 4-6 months from getting the public charging launched. The ones at Torrey Pines have residental firmware on them....

Where in the Torrey Pines area are these?

The Lodge at Torrey Pines. Someone had a post showing pictures of them.

Balboa Park is exciting but is 76 miles away. That is just outside my freeway loaded with the family comfort zone. Definitely will need a small boost somewhere there and back.

There is one planned for the Oceanside Transit Center

 

[davewill]

Where in the Torrey Pines area are these?

At the Torrey Pines Lodge...and that wouldn't be a bad point for you to charge on that trip. About 13 miles closer to you than Balboa Park. There's a good restaurant, plus a great golf course, driving range, and you can walk into the Torrey Pines State Park easily from there (I do it all the time)...and parking is free during the day.

 

[opencar]

This will be great. I visit the park frequently, and having charging available will be a great incentive to visit still more.

same here. hey davewill - i notice you are a fellow carmel valley resident. wouldn't happen to have a silver leaf i happened to see last week charging in a driveway?

Sadly, no. I'm still waiting for mine...So, was that yours I saw driving past Torrey Hills Shopping Center a couple of weeks ago?

no such luck. i'm a 10/22 order, no VIN, no nuthin' 'cept now "mo. of June" delivery,

 

[garygid]

Looking at Google Maps, it looks like there might be about 6 charging stations about 300 ft directly North of the main entrance to the Lodge at Torrey Pines. Or, these spots might just be sign-posted for some special use. Asking at the Lodge's main entrance would likely be efficient.

Coming south on I-5, getting off at Del Mar and coming down the coast, approaching the lodge from the North ... saves a mile or so.

Are these sufficiently operational to depend upon?

Do the Blink EVSEs require an RFID or some such?

Presumably, with Residential software, they are "open", right?

When they get "Public" firmware downloaded into them, will they require an RFID?

 

[gbshaun]

Balboa Park would be nice. I have entered a couple of locations there on the "suggestions please" Ecotality map. It's about 30 miles from me and i go there weekly. A charging station would allow me to make a longer trip before my Balboa park stop.
It looks like they are all on the west side? I might contact them about one or two at least on the east side of the canyon, by the tennis/pool/baseball/velodrome areas.

 

[whoami]

Are these sufficiently operational to depend upon?

I would say as operational as any Blink can be, which isn't saying much....

Presumably, with Residential software, they are "open", right?When they get "Public" firmware downloaded into them, will they require an RFID?

I too went to visit these units and they indeed have Residential firmware and appear not to be connected. They were fully open when I looked at them. To get "public" firmware I assume ecotality will have to send some monkeys over there to sneaker-net in a new firmware load.

BTW I just got a new slogan for wink. "Don't send me a monkey and Blink...just Wink!"

 

[rhover]

Are these sufficiently operational to depend upon?

I would say as operational as any Blink can be, which isn't saying much....

Presumably, with Residential software, they are "open", right?When they get "Public" firmware downloaded into them, will they require an RFID?

I too went to visit these units and they indeed have Residential firmware and appear not to be connected. They were fully open when I looked at them. To get "public" firmware I assume ecotality will have to send some monkeys over there to sneaker-net in a new firmware load.

BTW I just got a new slogan for wink. "Don't send me a monkey and Blink...just Wink!"

At least one is connected and functioning. I just posted about it on a San Diego charger (not THE San Diego Chargers!) thread:
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3984&p=95876#p95876

 

[Coffee_Slurry]

If I could charge my Leaf off Plans and Press Releases, ECOtality would have me covered from Otay to Crescent City!

Then Balboa Park would be one more place I could charge!
Sweet!

 

[rhover]

I've been teaching my daughter how to drive with the Leaf (great way to save on gas!), and today since we were near Balboa Park, I asked her to drive to the Blink locations to try out the EVSE there and our Blink card. It was a beautiful sunny 70 degree day so the parking lots were almost full. Unfortunately as others have noted, regular ICE (internal combustion engine) cars had blocked all 9 chargers from any access!!

The 6 EVSE by the Air & Space Museum are right in front of the Gymnasium so it appears many gym users simply park there since the location is so convenient.

not enough room to squeeze in to get at the one open space

and no room on this side either

so we went over to the Fleet Museum to see those 3 EVSE units.

there was a handicapped-signed car in the disabled space so I don't begrudge that one (to the right, not seen in this photo), but all the other adjacent spaces were also taken by ICE cars:

someone (one of us?) had written a note to the owner of the black car:

and I was particularly galled at this Mary Kay Cosmetics car taking up one of our spaces!

For the future, someone should think about installing parking lot EVSE units BETWEEN car spaces so the plug might reach 4 cars, and there might be a better chance that one would be open and usable. The 6 at Air & Space are only reachable by 8-10 spaces. It'd be better if those 6 could be accessed by 24 spaces.

 

[davewill]

I've been teaching my daughter how to drive with the Leaf (great way to save on gas!), and today since we were near Balboa Park, I asked her to drive to the Blink locations to try out the EVSE there and our Blink card.

Please write your city councilperson and the mayor's office to report your experience. These spaces will remain this way until the city decides to make them EV only.

 

[TRONZ]

Seriously! All the EV folks with a San Diego address need to get on this with local officials. Whats the point if EV's can't use them???

 

[davewill]

Seriously! All the EV folks with a San Diego address need to get on this with local officials. Whats the point if EV's can't use them???

Even you OC guys, especially if you've visited the area (or thought about it) in your LEAF, can write the mayor's office. Tourism is big business down here. Tell them you'd feel much more confident about visiting the museums, the Zoo and other attractions at Balboa Park if you felt more confident you could get charged up.