Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Developer envisions self-driving cars to pick up train riders
As Virgin Trains lays tracks to connect South Florida to south Orlando’s Meadow Woods SunRail station, at least one property owner in the community is incorporating some of the latest in transit technology to help encourage ridership, according to a report in GrowthSpotter.
Project manager Jose Hoyos is helping design a large transit-oriented development on the the shuttered Meadow Woods golf course that he says will eventually offer its residents free rides to the station in self-driving vehicles.
“We need to show that we’re not going to overwhelm the Development of Regional Impact with excessive car trips,” Hoyos said. “To do that I have to reduce internal car trips.”
Hoyos said he envisions a highdensity TOD that incorporates autonomous shuttle rides and ample pickup and drop-off locations within residential neighborhoods. Parking structures would pull double duty, serving daily commuters and airline or train passengers.
“Eventually, having a car will no longer be a necessity,” Hoyos said, noting the new law that took effect in July that allows self-driving vehicles to operate in Florida.
“We’re thinking in the next several years, more people will begin to use peer-to-peer car-sharing services too … By the time we occupy, we may have robo-taxis.”
The most recently submitted site plan for the master-planned community features more than 1,500 residential units across four neighborhoods: Meadow Woods Town Center, Wellness Village, Midtown Village and South Village.
At least 20 pickup and drop-off locations are featured within the plans, as well as commercial buildings that include a mix of office, medical office and retail uses.