Aspinwall officials are in the early stages of exploring whether to create an official borough charging station for electric vehicles.
Borough Manager Melissa O’Malley said several residents have their own charging devices, but there is no public station in town.
“The environmental committee has met with Duquesne Light about their program, but nothing has been decided,” she said after council’s Oct. 12 meeting. “We’re not very far with it. They didn’t really give us a cost. There’s a lot of different options.”
That meeting took place in February.
Councilwoman Mary Hancock said there is no site in mind for a possible charging station.
The Biden administration has set a goal of having half of all new cars sold in the country by 2030 be electric battery powered.
Council President Tim McLaughlin said having a borough charging station would be an added benefit to the community.
“It would be an added convenience for residents and those that want to visit that they can come shop and work and eat and charge,” said McLaughlin.
He said one problem is finding a location, and it would be difficult to have a designated space in the constantly used parking lot across from the borough building on Commercial Avenue.
Other borough officials said it will take time before they are ready to move forward with such a project.
“It’s clear there’s a growing need for it,” Councilman Heth Turnquist said. “We’re trying to be smart about it.”
There are charging stations at Sheetz and Dunkin Donuts in Harmar.
O’Hara Township has four charging stations, two at the community park on Fox Chapel Road and two at the Lauri Ann West Community Center on Powers Run Road.
Sharpsburg installed two stations outside Redhawk Coffee along North Canal Street earlier this year.
Sharpsburg Manager Christine DeRunk said they are part of the borough’s streetscape project and are not expected to be turned on until sometime in November.
