TIFTON — Downtown Tifton’s newest addition has made the city a little more eco – and electric vehicle – friendly.

The City of Tifton unveiled six new EV charging stations to be stationed in the parking lot of Commerce Way.

Crafted from a partnership between Tifton, Georgia Power and charging station installer EnviroSpark Energy Solutions, as well as nearly a year of planning, development and construction, city officials said they hope they will not only serve local electric vehicle owners but attract visiting EV owners to the city.

Mayor Julie Smith touted the new addition to the city as a potential means of drawing traffic to the town, inviting visitors off the interstate or highway to eat at the restaurants and shop Downtown Tifton while topping off their batteries on their electric vehicles.

Smith said the charging stations would be included on digital and online maps, guiding EV owners in need of a charge to the station and the city’s downtown district.

At a small ceremony held to properly unveil the new stations, the mayor thanked various people and organizations for their contributions to the project, including her fellow city council members, city employees and Georgia Power and EnviroSpark.

Abby McLaren, downtown development director, said she is eager to see what the charging stations could do for the city, confident the new installation would be a major asset for Downtown Tifton’s commerce.

“We are truly excited about having these downtown,” McLaren said. “We’re excited about capturing those people who may be traveling, or our local citizens and residents who have electric vehicles looking for a place to charge them up. We want to encourage them to come downtown, charge, walk around and check out all that we have to offer downtown.”

At the conclusion of the ceremony, Smith announced the charging stations are open and ready for use, encouraging electric vehicle owners, both in and out of town, to take full advantage of them.