Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, on assignment for the Winooski News
WINOOSKI – Winooski’s EV-readiness roadmap will help bolster the city’s electric vehicle infrastructure. The city unveiled the initiative last February as part of its master plan to reduce 33% of emissions-producing energy use by 2050. Officials hope that at least 89% of registered vehicles will be electric in the future.
The city started the initiative because the most recent data from Energy Action Network shows that Vermont is not on track to reach a legally obligated emissions level by 2030. The state’s transportation sector is responsible for 38.9% of those emissions, the highest of any sector.
Electric vehicles offer a more climate-friendly alternative, producing less carbon emissions than gas cars, according to Drive Electric Vermont. But last May, Governor Phil Scott issued an Executive Order derailing Vermont’s EV market — easing up on penalties for noncompliance with the Low Emissions Vehicle Program, “a ruling that requires 35% of all vehicles delivered to car dealers to be zero emission, starting in model year 2026,” according to Vermont Public.
In Winooski, electric vehicles got off to a sluggish start. Only 2.3% of all current registered vehicles in the city are electric. It wasn’t until 2023 that City Council approved amendments to Winooski’s Unified Land Use and Development Regulations to incentivize EV plug-in stations, but there are still no charging stations for public use in Winooski, according to Director of City Planning Ravi Venkataraman.
The EV-readiness map will capitalize on those previous efforts. The city has allotted $50,000 to fund the early planning stages — collaborating with Drive Electric Vermont to identify crucial building spots and potential speed bumps in the future.
“There are two most common hurdles to installing EV infrastructure,” said Dave Roberts, coordinator for Drive Electric Vermont. “Advancing plans to implementation, including funding and any partnership opportunities, since it can be a significant expense to install charging. And, finding suitable host site properties or on-street parking locations since EV charging works best when spaces are reserved for charging use only.”
City Planning is conducting public surveys to get community feedback on where those spaces would be. So far, Venkataraman said that Landry Park, Winooski Senior Center, the O’Brien Center and downtown are the highest priority locations for charging stations.
“These are common third spaces, common meeting points for the community to be at,” Venkataraman said. “We’re also seeing some feedback about installing at the school, too. So that’s something that we’re thinking about in the planning process.”
Officials must navigate how charging stations will impact traffic congestion. The Transportation Demand Management plan, which requires key corridors — like Mallets Bay Avenue, Main Street and E Allen Street— to accommodate bus routes and bike lanes, was added to Winooski’s Unified Land Use and Development Regulations.
“The objective of these regulations are to reduce private vehicle use and encourage people to use other modes of transportation,” Venkataraman said. “But we’re also aware that people are still going to use cars, and we can’t just have everyone use transit or bikes. So, trying to figure out that balance over time is going to be pretty significant.”
Creating a definitive layout for charging stations is a crucial step to accessing more funding, Venkataraman said. Once funding is acquired, Public Works will work with Green Mountain Power to begin the development process led by City Engineer Ryan Lambert and Director Jon Rauscher. Public works did not comment on their status.
EV market growth plays a big role in the city’s baseline assessment for how many charging stations they’ll need, according to Venkataraman. Drive Electric’s most recent report found that just under 19,500 electric vehicles are registered in Vermont — a 29% increase since last year. The cost of producing and purchasing electric vehicles is going down, which increases their financial accessibility for the public, according to Drive Electric Vermont.
The city hopes to solidify baseline plans by the end of the year. Officials will then gauge the long-term economic feasibility of EV implementation.
“How many EVs should we expect in 10 years? In 25 years?” Venkataraman said. “Politics are constantly changing, so we’re hoping that some of those opportunities will open up as the EV market becomes bigger in the future to build out EV infrastructure and meet the needs of the community.”
Correction (8/26/25): A previous version of this story inaccurately described Ravi Venkataraman as a city commissioner, but his more accurate title is Director of City Planning. The Transportation Demand Management plan was added to the city’s Unified Land Use and Development Regulations.