Historic West End Green District Initiative Continues with New EV Charging Station
CleanAIRE NC partners on installation of fourth station in three years
Local sustainability nonprofit CleanAIRE NC announced the coming installation of a new electric vehicle (EV) charging station along Beatties Ford Road on Thursday, the fourth such station to be installed along the Historic West End corridor since the Green District initiative launched in 2021.
The station will be located at 2010 Beatties Ford Road in a parking lot just south of LaSalle Street near American Deli. Other charging stations are located at 2315 Lasalle St., 1201 Beatties Ford Road and 2035 Patton Ave.
CleanAIRE partnered with EV charger company Go-Station and Historic West End community members and organizations to install the charging station and further its ongoing Historic West End Green District campaign to reduce air pollution, improve health and build climate-resilient communities along the corridor.
Read more: Historic West End Green District Advocates for Beatties Ford Corridor
“Expanding access to EV charging infrastructure is critical for advancing environmental justice and promoting a cleaner future for all Charlotte residents,” said Mike Anderson, vice president of Go-Station, in a release on Thursday. “This new station in the Historic West End will not only reduce emissions and improve air quality, but also make electric vehicles a more viable option for residents, empowering them to make eco-friendly choices.”
The Historic West End Green District (HWEGD) will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Nov. 16 to unveil the new station as well as a new public artwork created for the installation by Charlotte-based artist Sala Faruq.
As a resident of the West End, Faruq called the station “a beacon of hope for our communities,” adding that she worked certain imagery into the piece that she found to be symbolic to the moment: children denoting optimism for the future, a map representing the connection to broader state and city environmental initiatives, plus dogwood flowers and tree branches to represent renewal.
The dedication ceremony will provide resources for residents on the benefits of electric vehicles and more information on the HWEGD initiative, which engages neighborhood residents in education and advocacy training around environmental sustainability.
HWEGD projects include local air quality monitoring with portable sensors and the implementation of green infrastructure such as living green walls, EV charging stations, green bus shelters, strategic tree planting and solar community projects.
The group continues to advocate for air pollution education, holding workshops with local residents in partnership with CleanAIRE NC.
Ronald Ross, Mattie Marshall and William Hughes formed the HWEGD in 2016, partnering with CleanAIRE NC after the organization measured air pollution levels in several historically Black neighborhoods including the Beatties Ford Road corridor and compared the results with mostly white neighborhoods in south Charlotte where industrial development was unseen.
The data showed more air pollution in the three West End neighborhoods tested than sites in south and east Charlotte.
First known as Carolinas Clean Air Coalition and then as Clean Air Carolina, CleanAIRE NC aims to address climate change and air pollution through community partnerships like the ones they’ve embarked on with the Historic West End Green District.
The official charging station dedication ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 16 from 11 a.m.-noon at 2010 Beatties Ford Road. All community members are welcome, though organizers ask that those who are interested RSVP online.
