Gross: Not even Sound Transit respects Inslee’s EV plans
Oct 27, 2022, 5:00 PM | Updated: Oct 28, 2022, 8:55 am

The parking structure currently under construction. (Photo courtesy of Max Gross)
(Photo courtesy of Max Gross)
Gov. Jay Inslee signaled a change in August, announcing that Washington will follow California in banning the sale of all new gas-powered vehicles by 2035. But if he鈥檚 committed to the electric vehicle cause, why is Sound Transit building a massive new parking lot without a single charging station? 听
Sound Transit will complete the Downtown Redmond Link Extension project by 2024. It comes with a parking structure that holds 1,400 spaces at Marymoor Village Station. But it鈥檚 missing a key feature that Democrats claim will help turn the tide for climate change. 听
“There are no electric charging stations in the current plan,” Sound Transit spokesperson Rachelle Cunningham admits to the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH.
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While she notes that it will include conduits and the capacity to add them sometime in the future, why wouldn鈥檛 a major government construction project include it from the start? It would cut down on the costs incurred when they鈥檙e belatedly put in and it sends the message that they鈥檙e taking Inslee鈥檚 intent seriously.听
A tech-savvy city like Redmond is full of climate-conscious EV drivers and yet a major project like this will not accommodate them.
鈥We don鈥檛 have any mandates requiring new parking facilities to have a certain percent of stalls have EV charging,鈥 Inslee’s spokesperson Mike Faulk told the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH.听
Washington lawmakers have an even loftier goal of ‘phasing out鈥 vehicles with an internal combustion engine by 2030 鈥 .听
The obvious questions that followed were about practicality. How can a state with over five million licensed drivers phase out what had been the only type of vehicle for so long?鈥听
Tesla has made an important impression on the automobile market. The Texas-based car manufacturer reported sales of over 300,000 vehicles worldwide in the third quarter,鈥.听听
Also, the Rivian Truck is a notable addition to the national EV fleet 鈥 although that has come with some problems. The California-based manufacturer recalled nearly all of its vehicles鈥鈥听
So the market is sufficiently saturated with electric vehicles 鈥 great. Now, does the state have sufficient infrastructure to handle these vehicles? 听
New projects like major parking structures must include charging stations for these vehicles. This would appear to be essential to make Inslee’s ‘2035 plan’ a reality.鈥鈥听
鈥The state this year secured massive investments for EV infrastructure through the Move Ahead Washington Package,鈥 Faulk said. 鈥淔olks are going to see a lot more of it around the state in the coming years.鈥听
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The project in focus is progressing rapidly and is set to be completed in just two years. How far down the line do we have to go to start seeing infrastructure to support electric vehicles going into these projects?听
To truly make Inslee鈥檚 plan a reality, these key pieces need to start going in place now. It is misguided to think the government can play catchup when it seems like there is so little planned in terms of EV infrastructure. 听
This may be a small piece of the pie, but it illuminates the fact that Inslee is more interested in grabbing headlines than actually providing the nuts and bolts to make an EV transition happen effectively.鈥鼳nd if Sound Transit doesn’t take him seriously, why should Washingtonians?