Vail readies to decarbonize transportation in town

In 2021, the town of Vail committed to decarbonizing its fleet by becoming a “GoEV City.”  

GoEV is a national campaign and joint effort of the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP), the Clean Energy Economy for the Region, the Colorado Public Interest Research Group, Conservation Colorado, and the Sierra Club. In addition to Vail, the town of Avon, Summit County and several other Front Range communities have pledged to become GoEV cities.

By pledging to this campaign via resolution, cities and counties commit to transitioning their fleet and local transportation toward zero emissions. Vail passed its resolution in October 2021.

The first part of this commitment is to create an action plan that establishes the town’s priorities over the next five years.

At its Tuesday, April 4 Town Council meeting, the Vail Town Council will get its first look at this plan. The Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan outlines goals related to its infrastructure, fleet, policy, community and micro-mobility.

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“This plan aims to establish policies and programs that meet this vision and that support Colorado’s statewide goal of nearly one million EVs on its roads by 2030,” reads the draft plan’s executive summary. “This plan is intended to help the Town of Vail meet its commitments to the GoEV City Resolution and establish Vail as a community in which electric vehicles and micro-mobility solutions are prioritized over petroleum-fueled transportation,” reads the draft plan’s executive summary.

Before coming before the Vail Town Council, this plan has been reviewed by numerous town departments, teams and community members. Most recently, it was presented to the town’s Planning and Environmental Commission, which after evaluation, passed along a recommendation for adoption to the Town Council.

Reducing emissions

The Eagle County Climate Action Collaborative has established a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 and by 80% by 2050, goals that Vail has also adopted as a member of the collaborative.

As transportation is the leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions across the county —and the second leading cause in the town of Vail — reducing emissions in this sector is necessary to meet these targets.

“The potential to reduce GHG emissions in the transportation sector is a critical and important development for meaningful climate action. Electric vehicles, buses, and fleets can help eliminate transportation-related emissions, improve local air quality, and lower fuel and maintenance costs, all while meeting the mobility and transportation needs of the town and community,” reads the draft plan.

While the town has already begun efforts toward supporting electric vehicles and zero carbon emissions — including the installation of charging infrastructure, participation in Holy Cross Energy’s PuRE electrification program, electrification of some town buses and the introduction of an e-bike share program — this plan outlines the next investments required to continue on this journey.

For example, while the town currently has 71 charging ports, it will need 670 by 2030 to meet its target goals.

There are five main goal areas in the plan. This includes improvements to charging infrastructure, transitioning the town’s vehicle fleet (including town buses) to electric, developing electric vehicle policies to encourage and support transitions to these vehicles, increasing electric vehicles in the town, and implementing other micro-mobility solutions to change behaviors away from vehicles.

More specifically, according to a memo in the Town Council packet, the following goals are set out in the drafted EV plan:

• Infrastructure: A rapid expansion of public charging infrastructure, resulting in a tenfold increase in Level 2 chargers by 2030 and a fourfold increase in fast charging with prioritization directed towards gaps in access
• Fleet: Lead-by-example adoption of electric fleet and transit vehicles at the town of Vail, resulting in a 30% electric fleet by 2030 and 100% electric bus fleet by 2032, and 100% zero-emission fleet by 2050
• Policy: Fund new public EV infrastructure, reduce barriers to EV charging through development policies, and increase benefits of ownership of EVs by residents and employees
• Community: 30% of all vehicles in the Vail community will be electric by 2030, 100% will be zero-emissions by 2050, and community-wide infrastructure will increase by tenfold
• Micro-mobility: Expansion of e-bike and micro-mobility infrastructure, equity programs to ensure accessibility, and increased adoption of micro-mobility year-over-year

Further, the draft plan also identifies how the town will work toward these goals. This includes various efforts and strategies from education, policy changes and collaboration to the procurement and build-out of necessary infrastructure.

It also sets out several strategies to ensure that these goals are achieved in an equitable manner. This includes possible incentives for the local workforce and residents, electric car share programs, growth of its E-Bike for Essentials program and more.

At the Tuesday meeting, council will be asked to provide any feedback on the plan’s strategies and goals. Once this feedback is incorporated, the plan will come back to the council for adoption and incorporation into the town’s Comprehensive Plan.

To learn more about the GoEV plan and initiative or to view the other items on Vail Town Council’s April 4 agenda, visit VailGov.com. The plan will be discussed in the council’s afternoon meeting, which is scheduled to begin at 1:35 p.m. The meeting will take place in person at the Vail Town Hall (75 S. Frontage Road W). It will also be streamed live on the town’s Facebook page and on High Five Media.