While he isn’t including any examples related to automobiles, we’re living in the 21st century, and we depend on our vehicles for transportation and commerce more than ever. Accommodating the auto power technology of the moment – BEVs – is a necessity and, if not a priority now, is very likely to become one in the future. Devising well-considered and efficient uses for smart road furniture can have enormous benefits for all types of municipalities.
Using Kashiwa-style red light charging as an example, Jarred Knecht, president of high-voltage wire harness manufacturer ProEV, says such a technology is “Ideal for densely populated cities facing space constraints. With numerous condos and high-rises, finding room for charging stations becomes a challenge. Red-light charging thrives in bustling city traffic, providing a clever solution to the infrastructure hurdle.” Of course, no technology is a perfect fit for every location on the globe. Knecht points out that more thinly populated locations might not be suitable for smart furniture solutions.
Again using red light charging as an example, these areas typically have more available and developable land, thus can easily accommodate sufficient dedicated charging facilities for BEVs. Also, the standard dwellings in such places are houses and other single-family structures, as opposed to the apartments and condominiums predominant in cities. Most houses have parking areas and many are wired for home charging. This also obviates the need for a buried charging system, say, or other solutions that ease the operation and traffic flow of large numbers of vehicles.
Costs, of course, are a consideration as well. Even a relatively well-off municipality might balk at the expense and the disruption of wiring roads, signs and other pieces of infrastructure to aid the operation of next-generation cars. What often happens when a government, either national or local, takes on such pricey projects is that it boosts related revenue. Time-honored ways of doing this involve raising charges such as road tolls and auto registration fees. To understate the case, these rarely sit well with drivers (particularly drivers who vote).
