The Village of Oak Park just got a unique addition to its electric vehicle charging infrastructure, with a Voltpost charging station recently installed at the Park District of Oak Park’s (PDOP) Ridgeland Commons facility. What makes the Voltpost charging station unusual? It’s installed on a lamppost.
Seven Generations Ahead (SGA) worked with PDOP, Voltpost, ComEd, and other stakeholders to help bring this technology to the community. Oak Park is a leading community in the Cross Community Climate Collaborative (C4), which works to drive large-scale climate and sustainability projects across diverse west suburban Cook County communities. C4, which is co-led by SGA, is committed to equitable and impactful sustainable development across its partner communities. C4 leaders are hopeful this Voltpost installation is just the beginning of the expansion of accessible EV charging throughout C4 communities.
“The deployment of a Voltpost charger in Oak Park will expand EV charging access for the local community and help catalyze the transition to sustainable transportation,” said Voltpost CEO and Co-Founder, Jeffrey Prosserman in a press release from PDOP.
Voltpost’s strategy of retrofitting existing infrastructure to install EV chargers has several advantages. First, it allows the community to expand EV chargers to sites that might otherwise be difficult locations to install new charging stations. By utilizing lampposts, it can make the installation less expensive and quicker, as some of the necessary electrical components are already in place. Lastly, while condo buildings and other private locations may have EV charging stations, the Voltpost installation at Ridgeland Commons helps expand public EV charging infrastructure to accommodate the growing number of electric vehicles in the community.
Electric vehicle ownership has grown significantly across the country in recent years. Illinois has nearly 100,000 registered electric vehicles in the state. The increasing number of EVs on the road means a greater demand for charging infrastructure.
“Ensuring the residents of Oak Park benefit from affordable access to EV charging infrastructure is vital to fulfilling our commitment to serving the needs of our community,” said Kassie Porreca, President of the Park District Board of Commissioners, in her statement for PDOP’s press release.
As other C4 communities look to expand access to EV charging stations, Oak Park’s collaboration with Voltpost can serve as a model for a creative and scalable solution.
For more information on this story, see articles in CleanTechnica and the Chicago Tribune.
