PITTSBURGH, PA (April 19, 2021) – In collaboration with the Bloomberg Philanthropies American Cities Climate Challenge and the Pittsburgh Parking Authority, the Department of City Planning has published an Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Strategic Plan for Pittsburgh Public Facilities.
This plan was created in response to the 2019 EV Taskforce Recommendations to create a framework for the City of Pittsburgh to leverage Pittsburgh Parking Authority lots and garages and other City facilities to expand EV charging access citywide. It provides a clear vision and targets for the City and its stakeholders, and outlines goals for expanding public EV charging access through 2025, which will help the City meet its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transportation by 50% by 2030.
Today's announcement is one of many the City and Mayor William Peduto will be making in conjunction with Earth Day on April 22.
Currently, the City has 35 existing public EV charging plugs, mostly serving Downtown and Oakland. By 2025, the Strategic Plan aims to expand to over 200 new public charging plugs and work with stakeholders to increase the total number of public charging plugs to over 2,000 across the City. This includes at least four plugs in each Council District and a goal to ensure every household is within a 10-minute walk of a public Level 2 charger or a 10-minute drive of a DC fast charger. Level 2 chargers take 6-8 hours to deliver a full charge, while DC fast chargers mimic more of a gas station model of fueling and charge a vehicle to 80% full within 20-30 minutes.
“One key recommendation outlined by the plan is to determine a sustainable financing strategy,” said Principal Resilience Planner, Rebecca Kiernan. “This means establishing appropriate pricing structures for public chargers as well as a dedicated fund to cover operational costs that allows us to invest in new chargers throughout Pittsburgh.”
An interdepartmental EV Task Force has been assembled to build out charging infrastructure for the City’s growing EV fleet, and will also lead the implementation of the Public EV Charging Strategic Plan.
Pittsburgh is one of 25 cities selected to participate in the Bloomberg Philanthropies American Cities Climate Challenge, an effort to resource cities to take strong action to reduce pollution that contributes to climate change and impacts public health. As part of the Climate Challenge, Pittsburgh has pledged to take bold action to reduce emissions from its transportation and building sectors. Working with other Climate Challenge cities and cities around the world, Pittsburgh has explored approaches to increase access to low-carbon transportation options to give residents more choice, improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“Pittsburgh’s Public Facility EV Charging Strategic Plan is a great example of how cities across the country are paving the way for EV adoption and accelerating the transition to low-carbon transportation,” said Kelly Shultz, lead for sustainable cities and America Is All In at Bloomberg Philanthropies. “The Bloomberg Philanthropies American Cities Climate Challenge empowers local leaders to take bold and equitable climate action that improves lives for communities. We’re thrilled that Pittsburgh continues to drive us toward that goal.”
A copy of the EV Strategic Charging Plan is available here.
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For More Information:
Audrey Wells
Communications Specialist, Department of City Planning
audrey.wells@pittsburghpa.gov
412-255-2215
Rebecca Kiernan
Principal Resilience Planner, Department of City Planning
rebecca.kiernan@pittsburghpa.gov
412-440-8733
