Deciding initial EV charging deployment: High-Speed Hubs vs Distributed Level 2

[Michael.H]

I'm a city planner for a mid-sized municipality, and we're in the early stages of drafting a comprehensive plan to expand public EV charging infrastructure, but we're facing significant debate over the optimal placement and type of chargers to invest in first. Some council members are pushing for a few high-speed charging hubs along major highways, while others advocate for a distributed network of Level 2 chargers in residential neighborhoods and public parking lots to serve residents without home charging, and we lack clear data on projected adoption rates to guide the investment. For other municipal planners or stakeholders who have implemented similar programs, what were the key factors and data sources you used to determine your initial deployment strategy? How did you navigate the funding and partnership landscape with utility companies and private operators, and what have you learned about maintenance costs and reliability that we should build into our plan from the start?