ICEless in Seattle : Official Pacific NorthWest thread

[Anonymous]

(I admit I might have had ulterior motives on the EV Only sign, however. There's someone who visits one of my neighbors, and who routinely parks their giant Ford pickup truck right there around 10pm until like 4pm the next day, blocking my mailbox. It's gotten to the point that the mailman doesn't bother to deliver my mail when the truck is there. Grr!)

It is technically illegal to park where you are blocking a mailbox. I think that it's a 5-foot rule, you should be able to look it up. Seriously, if it's preventing you from getting mail, you should talk to your neighbor and tell them that you're not getting your mail because of it.

Often times things like this are simply one person having no idea that they're inconveniencing someone else. A friendly "Hey, would you mind parking somewhere else? Sometimes you block my mailbox and the mailman refuses to leave mail in that case" can make all the difference in the world.

 

[evnow]

But you raise a valid point that a permanent charger might be silly since, at SOME point, there will be charging infrastructure just across the overpass. Maybe would be better to just put a weatherproof socket on the fence when the power gets run out there for driveway lighting, and call it good. Then anyone who needs to charge to could plug in a level 1 charger if they asked.

If you want, you could even put a 240V plug - and people with Ingineer mod (or similar that will doubtless be available later) can charge.

 

[Packet]

It is technically illegal to park where you are blocking a mailbox. I think that it's a 5-foot rule, you should be able to look it up. Seriously, if it's preventing you from getting mail, you should talk to your neighbor and tell them that you're not getting your mail because of it.

Whoever it is, they're well aware; I've seen that the mailman has taken to leaving nasty notes on the truck. But it's not a neighbor's car, it's someone who visits a person elsewhere in the neighborhood. No clue who. They just choose to park right on my parking strip because I guess it's convenient for them to pull into; they clearly don't care about blocking the mailbox, since they've ignored all the notes the mailman's left.

Turning the space into an 'EV Parking Only' charging spot struck me as a way to be friendly to fellow EV owners /and/ get rid of the obnoxious pickup at the same time.

 

[SeattleBlueLeaf]

you might try putting a few sawhorses with reflectors in front of the mailbox. something that blocks the truck from getting there. they could just move them but the extra energy to be that big of a dork is unlikely.

 

[Anonymous]

Whoever it is, they're well aware; I've seen that the mailman has taken to leaving nasty notes on the truck. But it's not a neighbor's car, it's someone who visits a person elsewhere in the neighborhood. No clue who. They just choose to park right on my parking strip because I guess it's convenient for them to pull into; they clearly don't care about blocking the mailbox, since they've ignored all the notes the mailman's left.

Ah HA! Well, in that case I would have labeled them as an A-hole and taught them a lesson by having them towed. If they park there for that long, then it's plenty of time for a tow truck to come out and get them.

Now, I don't recommend towing in every situation, because often times it can be a big misunderstanding and it causes a HUGE headache and expense for the person being towed, so my take is to use that as a last resort. But this is a repeat offender that has repeatedly been told officially. Sounds to me like they need that lesson in extreme inconvenience.

Downside, of course, is that if they know it was YOU who had them towed, they could always retaliate in some way.

Another good option might be to call it in to the police. I know here where I live the police are more than willing to swing by and actually write a ticket a couple times first before having them towed. Granted I'm in a very small town (Newcastle) where the police aren't quite as busy as some other areas like where you're located, but it's worth a shot.

I know some places in Seattle are really lacking in parking, but honestly, come on. If you're going to be that much of a pain in the a$$, especially when it's not even your neighborhood, then you deserve the headaches that are coming to you.

 

[Rake]

Truck tires are expensive. It would be a shame if they kept going flat...

 

[FairwoodRed]

Packet,

I'm willing to help out. I'm a home remodel enthusiast and I do all of my own permitted electrical work. Together I am sure we can find all of the details needed to put curbside EV charging at your home and save you the cost of an electrician.

Your thoughts about doing it at the same time as driveway lighting may not be as advantageous as you hoped because most driveway lights are low voltage (some are line voltage) - Seattle may not need a permit for low voltage (King County does not).

If it were me, I would put a weatherproof outlet out there and either move yours there when someone came over, or let them plug theirs in. That way you have less exposure to vandalism/theft of the EVSE. The outlet could even be side by side 120/240.

My wife works at the outpatient center (was Northwest Hospital, now UW medicine) and I am sure that once in a while she would take advantage of your offer (we are a 65mi round trip commute and unforeseen errands would need charging). The parking near her work is really bad because of the nearby college. There have been new parking restriction signs put up by the City and the City might do that for you too.

Either way, I enjoy helping with home projects and hope that you PM me with your email address and that we talk about it more.

Brian

 

[Packet]

A friend spotted a blue LEAF near the Bayview Thriftway in Olympia, WA around 1:10pm today! She was excited enough by the sighting to get on Facebook once she was home and tell me.

 

[evnow]

A friend spotted a blue LEAF near the Bayview Thriftway in Olympia, WA around 1:10pm today! She was excited enough by the sighting to get on Facebook once she was home and tell me.

May be Dave's ?

 

[IBELEAF]

So the temps went up in Seattle so is the range per SOC bar. I am roughly noticing 10-15% improvement.

 

[jlambeth]

one thought though is that Northgate is a site that should get plenty of Ecotality public chargers here shortly so the plug share is less needed here than in remote locations. NG is supposed to get a level three too from what I have seen. Not holding my breath on seeing those delivered anytime soon though.

True, I've heard that they are planning to install Ecotality chargers in the Northgate parking structure (and there's a rumor they might go in at the Park & Ride, too). However, based on what others have said about Ecotality's installation record, I'm not expecting to see those before 2013.

But you raise a valid point that a permanent charger might be silly since, at SOME point, there will be charging infrastructure just across the overpass. Maybe would be better to just put a weatherproof socket on the fence when the power gets run out there for driveway lighting, and call it good. Then anyone who needs to charge to could plug in a level 1 charger if they asked.

(I admit I might have had ulterior motives on the EV Only sign, however. There's someone who visits one of my neighbors, and who routinely parks their giant Ford pickup truck right there around 10pm until like 4pm the next day, blocking my mailbox. It's gotten to the point that the mailman doesn't bother to deliver my mail when the truck is there. Grr!)

Ah Ha! So if this is really private property - a no parking/tow away sign is in order. I'm sure a towing company will let you know the details.

 

[jlambeth]

It is technically illegal to park where you are blocking a mailbox. I think that it's a 5-foot rule, you should be able to look it up. Seriously, if it's preventing you from getting mail, you should talk to your neighbor and tell them that you're not getting your mail because of it.

Whoever it is, they're well aware; I've seen that the mailman has taken to leaving nasty notes on the truck. But it's not a neighbor's car, it's someone who visits a person elsewhere in the neighborhood. No clue who. They just choose to park right on my parking strip because I guess it's convenient for them to pull into; they clearly don't care about blocking the mailbox, since they've ignored all the notes the mailman's left.

Turning the space into an 'EV Parking Only' charging spot struck me as a way to be friendly to fellow EV owners /and/ get rid of the obnoxious pickup at the same time.

... and block the mailbox, which is still illegal. Please don't give EVs a bad name by twisting the intent here.

 

[Packet]

... and block the mailbox, which is still illegal. Please don't give EVs a bad name by twisting the intent here.

I should actually clarify here. I'm on a street with no sidewalk, and at my particular property, there's no shoulder either. However, the previous owner of the property decided to kill the very front of the yard and put down gravel to allow visitors to park; though the mailbox for my house and three of my neighbors is there, there's also space for two cars as well.

Until recently, I couldn't have cared less if people used the space; people have generally been responsible with it. However, in the past four months, someone has taken to parking a very large truck in that spot -- and doing so very poorly. They park such that they take up most of the space, and are poking far enough out that while they are not IN FRONT of the mailboxes, they poke into the street enough that the mail truck isn't able to reach the mailbox.

They've ignored polite notes stuck on the mailbox by me ("If you use this space, PLEASE be certain to park far enough in from the street that the mail truck can reach the mailboxes; if you block the mailboxes, mail isn't delivered.") and increasingly impolite notes stuck under their windshield wipers by the mailman. (The one we found discarded said simply, and I quote, "No mail until you move the damn truck.")

No one else who parks there causes this problem. However, the pickup has taken to pulling up one evening and then sitting there for a day or two (clearly visiting someone in the neighborhood). Without the truck there, anyone who parks in the spot seems to behave pretty well. So I thought turning half of it into an EV charging spot to put on PlugShare might work; half of it would still be free for sane people to park in, and the truck wouldn't be able to pull in anymore, because they seem constitutionally incapable of taking up a normal sized amount of the parking strip. AND it would be a charging place to use right by the outpatient medical center, Northgate, the transit center, etc. (Or a place I could plug in if guests showed up and blocked the driveway.) Seemed like a win-win at first thought.

However, while I was pondering this, another resident who got fed up with the mailboxes being blocked and mail not delivered decided to just park a car smack in the middle indefinitely, preventing the truck from pulling in at all. This seems to have solved the problem (the truck has been finding other parking) and, yay, now we're getting mail again! So that's probably a simpler solution for now, though unfortunately it does also effectively prevent anyone /else/ from parking there either.

And of course, it still doesn't give a nice PlugShare spot near the transit center et al.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

it is legal for non-residents to park overnight in your neighborhood? (visitors are considered non residents) because it is not legal here. you may have them towed.

granted, this is not where we want to go, but i see that the driver has been warned and really does not care what your wishes are. you are a resident and have rights, he is a visitor and in the eyes of the law, does not

 

[evnow]

...and increasingly impolite notes stuck under their windshield wipers by the mailman. (The one we found discarded said simply, and I quote, "No mail until you move the damn truck.")

So, the mailman doesn't know the guy parking there doesn't live there ? You could contact the mailman and tell him about this and ask him what to do.

And ofcourse, if you can figure out who he visits in the neighbourhood you can talk to them. They are likely to be more responsive than this visitor.

 

[SeattleBlueLeaf]

So - I am driving down 5th Avenue this morning and .. right in front of me (driving in my LEAF), I spot a Volt! Hard to miss actually. Well, I pull up to him at the next block, give a thumbs up, and the passenger roll down their window to chat. I roll mine down, and the guy starts chatting about how much he loves the car and the mileage is great, blah blah blah.. had no clue I was in a LEAF. oh well.

The Volt must have been here for awhile as it had WA plates on it.

 

[evnow]

I roll mine down, and the guy starts chatting about how much he loves the car and the mileage is great, blah blah blah.. had no clue I was in a LEAF. oh well.

Did you tell him you get infinite mpg ?

 

[SeattleBlueLeaf]

I roll mine down, and the guy starts chatting about how much he loves the car and the mileage is great, blah blah blah.. had no clue I was in a LEAF. oh well.

Did you tell him you get infinite mpg ?

No. I'm trying to be positive about any car that gets us more off oil. I can't believe he had no clue though and he clearly had no clue. Oh well.

 

[QueenBee]

No. I'm trying to be positive about any car that gets us more off oil. I can't believe he had no clue though and he clearly had no clue. Oh well.

Agreed, I'm surprised a higher percentage of cars aren't hybrids. I envision a time soon when most all ICE cars will be plugin hybrids. I guess gas prices just need to stay high for that additional cost to be palatable to more people, and of course the technology cost to keep plummeting.

 

[Bud]

...and increasingly impolite notes stuck under their windshield wipers by the mailman. (The one we found discarded said simply, and I quote, "No mail until you move the damn truck.")

So, the mailman doesn't know the guy parking there doesn't live there ? You could contact the mailman and tell him about this and ask him what to do.

And ofcourse, if you can figure out who he visits in the neighbourhood you can talk to them. They are likely to be more responsive than this visitor.

Get a can of red paint and a small paint roller. Paint the curb red in front of the mailboxes.