Governor Cooper and Mayor Lyles visited the unveiling of the new first of its kind in North Carolina PoleVolt charging station outside of the Ritz at Washington Heights Park. The curbside EV charging station uses existing streetlight infastructure to cut down the costs of installing an EV charging station by as much at 50 percent. 

The Ritz at Washington Heights Park is located in the Historic West End. In 2018, several community leaders formed the Historic West End Green District. This initiative was designed to improve air quality, reduce emissions, and improve health. Making this location perfect for the free-to-use charing station. 

The project has been brought to fruition by the partnership of Duke Energy, The City of Charlotte, Centralina Regional Council, and the UNC Charlotte EPIC center. 

It is essential to support EV infrastructure to be ready when electric vehicles will become more affordable and accessible. Installing an EV charging station outside of the Ritz at Washington Heights Park gives locals access to charging that lack off-street parking availability for at home charging.