Balboa Park is the proud new host of 10 electric-vehicle charging stations. The stations are the result of a year-long collaboration between the firm ECOtality and the City of San Diego, SDG&E, and others.
Mayor Jerry Sanders said San Diego is taking a leadership role in adopting electric vehicles.
"Once we have a basic infrastructure in place this fall, San Diego will become the testing place for EVs," Sanders said. "We'll learn from drivers how we can improve the system and ultimately San Diego will serve as a model for other cities not only nationwide but worldwide."
ECOtality plans to install one thousand charging stations throughout San Diego by the end of the year.
It's free to charge your car in Balboa Park for the next month and a half, and will cost about $2.50 an hour after that. (The Park's Reuben H Fleet Science Center also hopes to add an electric vehicle exhibit soon.)
Electric car owners like Encinitas Deputy Mayor Jerome Stocks said they appreciate the convenience of charging stations away from home.
"Twelve-hundred miles roughly a month, and so far the bill hasn't exceeded $35 a month," Stocks, said. "So I'm liking the economies of this vehicle quite a bit. And that doesn't count the nice feeling that when you are sitting in traffic you actually know you are not contributing to the air pollution."
