SOUTH BEND — A grant received by the South Bend Sustainability department to pay for accessible electric vehicle charging stations has been paused with no anticipated restart date.
The news came at a LaSalle Park Neighborhood meeting Tuesday, April 21. The Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Grant Program was to support strategically placed electric vehicle infrastructure around South Bend, three of which are proposed on the west side.
During the meeting, South Bend Sustainability Executive Director Alex Bazán answered questions from guests. The event was hosted by the LaSalle Park Neighborhood Association and Black Lives Matter South Bend.
“It was a grant that was available through the Biden administration but it’s currently on pause,” Bazan said. “The Trump administration … they haven’t necessarily cancelled it, but they haven’t allowed it to proceed.”
The three proposed public sites on the west side:
● Charles Black Community Center
● MLK Dream Center
● Kennedy Park
Despite the grant being paused, the city went ahead with installing electric vehicle infrastructure at the MLK Dream Center, where there are now four, free charging stations.
“As construction happened, we decided to go in and install those chargers,” Bazán said. “We thought it made sense economically as the parking lot was being established, as conduits were being laid out, connected to the building.”
“We thought it would cost more, assuming the CFI grant came back, and we had those funds available, to open all that up and install the charging station,” Bazán said.
The South Bend Community Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 100% by 2050. According to Bazán, an increasing number of people are driving electric vehicles around the city.
“One of the intentions of the plan is that we established the infrastructure there so that people have that opportunity to participate in the transition to electric vehicles,” Bazán said. “If we have a good distribution of charging stations throughout the city, it makes it easier for folks to be open to the idea.”
One hope the city has, Bazán said, is that with more accessible charging stations, comes investment in the west side community.
“You bring EV stations in and now you’re looking at recruitment of more businesses and people who have abilities to participate and invest in your area,” said Henry Davis Jr spokesperson for Black Lives Matter South Bend.
Other proposed public sites include:
● O’Brien Fitness Center
● South Bend Housing Authority
● Boehm Park
The meeting brought over 10 residents and second district South Bend Common Council member Ophelia Gooden-Rodgers and at-large council member Karen White as well as South Bend Community School Corp. board member Carlos Leyva.
Email Tribune staff writer Juliane Balog at jbalog@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend grant to install electric car charging on west side paused
Reporting by Juliane Balog , South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
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