Oshkosh committee recommends council adopt electric-vehicle readiness plan; pilot sites proposed

The Oshkosh City Transportation Committee on Tuesday reviewed an electric-vehicle (EV) readiness plan developed with SRF Consultants and informally recommended that the Common Council adopt the plan, without taking a formal vote at the workshop.

The plan, presented by Bill Tro, a transportation planner with SRF Consultants, outlines current public‑charging inventory, community engagement results, projected EV adoption through 2050 and recommendations for cautious, pilot‑scale public charging on municipally owned property. Committee members discussed two proposed pilot locations (near the Oshkosh Convention Center and at Lakeshore Park), estimated upfront costs and options for third‑party operation and maintenance of chargers.

The committee heard that the plan grew from about two years of work with the East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission and SRF, including a community survey, three public meetings and stakeholder sessions. Bill Tro said the region currently has a small number of plug‑in vehicles and public ports but that federal funding programs such as the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program and competitive community charging grants create funding opportunities. “We started almost 2 years ago. We worked with our…