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My wife and I took a trip to Seattle in a recently purchased electric vehicle. I was surprised how few charging stations there were to support such a journey. Not only were there a limited number of chargers, but the options that existed were well away from the highway and many were not functioning. What should have been a 13-hour journey instead took 17 hours.
If the vision for more electric vehicles is to become a reality, there must be an effort to improve the required infrastructure. I would start with a bank of charging stations at every California rest stop. There are some rest stops that have single chargers, but this is wholly inadequate. Furthermore, since charging can take at least 15 to 20 minutes, waiting for an available charger would be inevitable.
Let’s make California a true leader in electrification through an improved charging network along this major corridor.
Peter BodskyCopperopolis
Re: “Wildfire season going to extremes” (Page A1, Aug. 1).
I teach creative problem solving, and our state should “look over the fence” for the solution to wildfires that are causing lost lives and billions in damages.
California is watched over constantly by eyes in the sky (satellites), and if our state uses its AI expertise to instantly pinpoint new fires, then quick response crews can stomp them out before they cost lives and billions of dollars.
All it takes is some leadership from state leaders.
Curtis PanasukLivermore
Re: “Cities struggle to get a handle on e-bike safety” (Page A1, Aug. 19).
I believe the article created a misconception regarding the safety of e-bikes. The article stated a “Class III e-bike … can travel up to 28 mph.” This is true. However, just like an ordinary bike, you have to pedal to get them to move; the motor does nothing if you’re not pedaling. As someone who owns an e-bike, I can tell you that getting it up to 28 mph requires a lot of effort and is hard to sustain. Most of the time, on level ground, my speed is closer to 15 mph.
In contrast, a person in reasonably good physical shape riding a non-motorized bike can maintain a sustained speed of 15 mph or more on level ground.
In other words, these sorts of e-bikes typically pose no greater danger to safety than an ordinary bike would. They should not require separate regulation. Self-propelled e-bikes are different — and should be considered separately.
Ted LandauEl Cerrito
This week’s Internal Affairs is a perfect summary of why the California Legislature is a petty and partisan body.
Legislation proposed by Assemblywoman Marie Alvarado-Gil, R-Modesto, was summarily killed by the Democrats after she switched party affiliation.
Although none of these bills were guaranteed to become law, they were at least under consideration when her name was followed by a D.
Now that she has decided to serve as a Republican, we will see how the party that champions “diversity and inclusion” is unwilling and incapable of dealing with diversity of thought.
Cliff SanburnSan Ramon
