The number of electric vehicle charging stations continues to grow along the Route 1 corridor, with the most recent additions at three parking spots in downtown Mount Rainier.

Located next to the parking lot on 35th Street just off the roundabout, the three EV charging stations in Mount Rainier were recently installed by the city through Pepco’s Evsmart Public Charging Program.

The city chose the location to encourage visitors who might be checking out nearby restaurants including the new Dodah’s Kitchen and Pennyroyal Station.

Hyattsville and College Park took similar approaches with charging stations in public parking lots near shopping areas, while the Station at Riverdale Park has charging stations outside Whole Foods as well as the Route 1 corridor’s only Tesla supercharger. Charging stations have also become amenities at apartment buildings like Studio 3807 and Artisan 4100 and hotels like the Hotel at the University of Maryland and the Cambria Hotel.

Unlike those free charging stations, the Mount Rainier stations cost motorists 18 cents a kilowatt-hour for a recharge, or about $7 for a complete charge of a typical electric car. Users pay with the Greenlots app.

More will likely be coming soon. The Biden administration has set a goal of building more than 500,000 new EV charging stations by 2030 and replacing hundreds of thousands of federal vehicles with electric versions — following the lead of the Hyattsville Police Department, which added the nation’s first electric police car in 2017.

From Woodridge to College Park, there are now 27 charging stations, including eight on the University of Maryland campus, according to PlugShare.

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