Background:

The City of Columbus has bold climate and equity goals to ensure that we do our part to combat global climate change and ensure a healthy and prosperous community for all our residents now and in the future. Transportation is the largest source of climate-changing carbon pollution in Columbus and to reach the city’s goals, making walking, biking, riding public transit, and using electric vehicles (EV) attractive and available to everyone is essential.

We’re currently conducting engagement to better understand community needs in the transition to an electric vehicle future. The results of this survey will help inform future community-centered programs for our residents. We want to collect diverse perspectives on the installation of electric vehicle chargers and electric vehicles to inform an Equitable Electric Vehicle (EV) Ready Parking Ordinance and the supportive programs that help center community needs. The Equitable EV Ready Parking Ordinance would ensure that newly created parking lots and garages have EV charging stations installed and/or have the ability to be easily installed in the future. To learn more about this work, visit: https://www.columbus.gov/sustainable/evreadyparking/.

Electric vehicles 101:

Electric vehicles have an electric motor instead of an internal combustion engine. As a result, an electric vehicle, or “EV”, uses a large battery pack to power the electric motor rather than being powered by gasoline. There are a number of benefits to driving an EV:

●    Lower maintenance costs - no oil changes or engine tune-ups

●    Lower fuel costs - the cost of electricity is significantly less than gasoline

●    Better for our health and the environment - no harmful tailpipe emissions

In addition to this EV Ready Parking Community Impacts survey, Columbus is soliciting feedback on the proposed Equitable EV Ready Parking Ordinance. To provide feedback on the ordinance, visit: Equitable EV Ready Parking Ordinance - Feedback Form.