Editor, The Beacon:
Parking, parking, parking!! Where do you park when you want to eat in Downtown DeLand during the day? Where do you park anytime when you have an EV? At this time, there are three EV parking stations in the Downtown area: two in the parking lot next to the county building and one behind the City Hall.
Only one in the lot next to the county building actually operates, and it is usually occupied all day by the same vehicle. The sign says a three-hour limit, but it appears that the parking police only ticket regular parking customers!
The city put five EV chargers next to the old fire station but restricted their use to city employees only! “NICE.” The other two chargers remain in disrepair. The one behind City Hall has been down for over a year!
Now that the old fire station has been demolished, along with the five city-employee-exclusive chargers, to make a new parking lot, will it be for the public or just another lot for city employees? Will the City Commission recognize the need to accommodate EV owners? I guess we will have to wait!
We know that statistics state that 13 percent of all new vehicle sales are now EV-type vehicles. Some questions are: Do EV owners come to Downtown DeLand for food or entertainment with no charging facilities available? Will more come if they can charge their vehicles? I’m sure the Downtown merchants would be happy about more customers!
Are EV owners looking for free rides? No! Only for the ability to get a charge! The city could easily contract with a charging-station company (ChargePoint for example), and this would not only provide for EV owners’ needs, but would have the charging costs covered with some income from their use!
How can DeLand ever be “America’s Best Main Street” again if we don’t move out of the past and into present times? Consider fixing the ridiculous parking issue Downtown and, of course, provide chargers for EV owners!!
Barry MacCoy
DeLeon Springs
