Oakledge Park Home to Burlington’s Newest EV Charger

Dual-Port, Level 2 Charger is First Installed at any Burlington City Park

August 4, 2023 Web Admin

Burlington, VT — The City of Burlington Department of Parks, Recreation & Waterfront (BPRW) and Burlington Electric Department (BED) announced that the City departments partnered to install a new, dual-port, Level 2 electric vehicle (EV) charging station near the entrance of Oakledge Park. The ChargePoint charger, which came online late last month, is the first EV charger available in any Burlington park and represents the first of many park-located EV chargers that the City plans to install.

The City’s charging network now totals 19 charging stations, furthering the City’s efforts to transition away from carbon-emitting fossil fuels in pursuit of its bold goal to become a Net Zero Energy city.

“This project supports two long held priorities for the City, improving our public spaces for all to enjoy, and advancing our Net Zero Energy goals,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger “I am pleased that BED is able to put these public dollars to work to make electrifying everything easier and more affordable for all Burlingtonians, and excited that our first installation of EV chargers at a public park is at Oakledge, soon to be home to Vermont’s first universally accessible playground.”

The new charging station is available to Oakledge Park visitors 24 hours per day, seven days per week and has capacity to charge two vehicles within approximately two to four hours each, depending on the battery size. BED paid for the charger with Net Zero Energy Revenue Bond funds, and BPRW funded the installation costs in coordination with preparation of the accessible parking spots.

With the addition of this new, dual-port charger, the City of Burlington EV charging network now has a total of 19 chargers and 35 ports, including one single-port, Level 3 fast charger, located at BED’s 585 Pine Street offices and capable of significantly recharging an EV battery in as little as 20 to 30 minutes. Additionally, BED is providing incentives for chargers to be installed at rental, condo, and multi-family buildings, with extra incentives available when those chargers are made available to the public between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

“Charging up your electric vehicle while you enjoy time at a Burlington park is a win-win for our customers and the community, and Burlington Electric is pleased to have partnered with our colleagues at the Department of Parks, Recreation & Waterfront to make this project happen at Oakledge,” stated Darren Springer, General Manager of Burlington Electric Department. “A cross-divisional team at Burlington Electric is working hard to map out opportunities for adding more chargers across our community, and certainly we hope to see additional chargers in Burlington parks soon. These chargers will complement our current public charging network, our new fast charger located at 585 Pine Street, and chargers we are supporting at rental, condo, and multi-family buildings throughout the community with our EVMatch partnership.”

The two EV-charging parking spots are adjacent to six new accessible parking spots near the park entrance, all part of ongoing investments to make Oakledge Park accessible to all, including visitors to the State of Vermont’s first universally accessible playground, anticipated to open this fall.

“We’re excited to offer this new option to people who drive an electric vehicle to get to Oakledge, making the journey there and back more stress free and sustainable,“ said Cindi Wight, Burlington Parks, Recreation & Waterfront Director, “We appreciate this partnership with Burlington Electric and look forward to facilitating the expansion of the public EV charging network across the City.”