LARAMIE (WNE) — Electric cars are here, and growing in popularity and accessibility.

The city of Laramie in partnership with the Wyoming-based company OtterSpace recently installed four new 80A Level 2 charging stations with the hopes of doing more for the downtown area than simply providing charge for electric vehicle drivers.

The four stations are located at the University Avenue and 1st Street Bison Lot, also used for free parking. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was on Oct. 25.

City Manager Todd Feezer said it was “absolutely” a strategic placement, specifically designed to allow travelers to stop into the city and shop downtown.

“That’s by design,” he said.  “Maybe [they’ll] buy some meals, or do some shopping, something like that while their cars are charging.”

OtterSpace financed the roughly $75,000 to purchase and install the chargers, with the only contribution from the city coming in the form of an estimated $1,200 for ground markers. OtterSpace founder Mike Yin described the project as a “mutually beneficial relationship” for travelers, his company and Laramie itself.

“The goal is that it’s a mutually beneficial relationship for both the downtown of Laramie and for us as a company,” Yin said. Yin’s company is working to add electric charging stations across the state to address the growing numbers of electric cars on the roads, specifically those that travel through Wyoming. He also is a Wyoming State Representative, a Democrat from Jackson.

“Tourism is our number two industry, right, so for those that want to be tourists in Wyoming, if they have electric vehicles, they have to understand whether there’s charging to even get to where they’re going, or if there’s charging on the way, or even evaluating a place that they want to visit whether there is that infrastructure there,” Yin said.