Torrington review finds local EV chargers lack lighting, ADA parking and signage; planners to pursue zoning changes

City of Torrington planners, residents and regional transportation officials on Monday reviewed site assessments and community interviews showing most local electric-vehicle charging stations lack dedicated lighting, ADA-compliant parking and clear signage, and they discussed follow-up steps including further site surveys, utility outreach and zoning changes.

Daphne Dixon, executive director of Live Green Connecticut and the Clean Transportation Coalition, said the work stems from an EPA-funded grant her organization won to focus on EV zoning and user experience. "This grant was a competitive grant that we received from EPA, and it's a very, focused upon topic nationally," Dixon said.

The assessment team examined multiple chargers across Torrington and highlighted recurring problems: three assessed chargers at car dealerships lacked overhead lighting specific to the pedestals, none of the assessed sites were ADA compliant with marked EV parking, many stations had no time-limit or price signage, and protective curbing or bollards were frequently missing. Project presenters also documented short cords or misaligned stalls that made access difficult at some sites.

"I think the positioning of torrenting and being in in being a kind of a regional regional hub, I think it's really important for us to to look into at least making sure we have the infrastructure for it," Jeremy Leifert, the city planner, said, describing why Torrington should prepare for increased EV use.

Participants noted differences in access depending on funding and ownership. Dixon explained that chargers installed with federal grant funding typically must remain publicly accessible, while privately funded chargers can be locked or unavailable outside business hours. The meeting identified two recently installed chargers — at the municipal library lot and behind Franklin Plaza — that were not included in the original assessments because they were not listed in the Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC) database at the time of the survey.

Nate Nardee Cyrus, Torrington's zoning enforcement officer, described an example of how local zoning already interacts with chargers: he said a Stop & Shop installation prompted a sign-regulation amendment to limit animated advertising on pedestal signage and that enforcement forced the vendor to switch to static messaging. "We actually do have that regulation, but it's under our sign regulation as a specific use," Nardee Cyrus said.

Regional and state-level programs and standards were also discussed. Eric Schwartel of the Northwest Hills Council of Governments, who previously worked on NEVI planning at the Federal Highway Administration, noted that some grant programs reference lighting or site standards while others do not. Participants agreed utility capacity and site power availability — including coordination with Eversource — will be essential when selecting public charging locations.

Meeting participants proposed concrete follow-ups rather than immediate policy adoption. The group agreed to: (1) ask city public-works and facilities staff to confirm the status and public accessibility of the city-hall pedestal (which currently appears removed or under repair on public databases); (2) request Live Green and its partners submit the two newly raised chargers to AFDC/PlugShare so they are locatable; (3) perform a phase-2 round of site assessments that includes the library and Franklin Plaza chargers; and (4) pursue utility outreach this fall and winter to check transformer capacity and make‑ready viability before drafting zoning language.

Dixon and other presenters said the grant team can also recommend that state make-ready programs (regulated by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority) consider covering noncharging site features — for example, lighting and weather protection — in future funding rounds to improve safety and usability.

Several residents and officials raised broader questions about payment transparency, cord length and stall dimensions, and whether signage should be generic (directional arrows) versus vendor‑branded. The presenters said they will incorporate those practical items into model zoning provisions and the next round of assessments.

The meeting closed with plans to reconvene after the fall outreach and additional assessments. Project staff asked attendees to stay and share contact information for follow-up, including a cost-comparison sheet and invitations to possible “drive and ride” engagement events.