Destination Electric or the EV Fair in Los Altos may face its end in 2025.
It was recommended by city of Los Altos staff members at the May 8 Environmental Commission meeting to combine the EV Fair with the Los Altos Farmers’ Market due to logistical reasons. Environmental commissioners will decide its fate at their June meeting.
The EV Fair started in 2023, providing electrification education for community members. The EV Fair was put in place to meet the 1.4A Transportation Strategy in Los Altos’ 2022 Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP). The event allows community members to meet people who own EVs, such as a Rivian R1T or Ford Mustang Mach-E, and learn about the financial benefits of electrification and the various community incentives to switch to electric. The goal of this strategy is to “reach 80% community-wide electric vehicle adoption by 2035,” according to CAAP.
Xiomara Aguirre, a Los Altos development services technician, said at the meeting that in the last two years the fair has been a success. More than 18 people showcased their vehicles this year and the city was able to draw large crowds.
Aguirre said despite the positive turnouts, it took a lot of resources to plan the event and took more than a year to produce the graphics, confirm vendors and ensure safety at the event. She said the city believes the farmers’ market will reach new audiences.
“We do believe we will be reaching a variety of audiences compared to those who attend the EV Fair – which they already are aware and have knowledge of EV,” Aguirre said. “At the farmers’ market, we are reaching other audiences that might not be aware. They might be attending the farmers’ market, walking around and there will be all this information.”
Aguirre said the city has reserved a booth for 10 days at the farmers’ market. The city hopes to have minimal planning with the same effective public outreach. Aguirre said some ideas at the farmers’ market include providing flyers, having one vehicle parked near the booth or inviting experts.
The environmental commission group feedback was varied following Aguirre’s presentation. Commissioner Bruno Delagneau thought the fair should expand to more areas of electrification and be “more inclusive” to other forms of transportation such as e-bikes. Delagneau believes there still needs to be a large event to answer questions about the city’s electrification initiative.
“I’m not sure it’s the time to just say ‘Okay we’re doing great, let’s move on,’” Delagneau said. “We need to keep at it one way or another. I’m not 100% convinced that replacing it with the farmers’ market is going to do it. I think the farmers’ market having a booth there on a regular basis is a very good idea because we can address specific topics when the time comes right and then we can be very specific there.”
Nick Zornes, the assistant city manager of Los Altos, was also present at the meeting and told the Town Crier that there was no final decision yet. The environmental commission will reconvene next month to make their vote.
