Mayor wants driverless cars in growth plan
Saskatoon Mayor Don Atchison thinks the city needs to include driverless vehicles in its plans.
Atchison raised the issue at Monday’s governance and priorities committee meeting in response to a proposal to hold a public summit to present the City of Saskatoon’s growth plan.
For the past year and a half, city hall officials have been seeking public input and writing a growth plan that covers the doubling of the city’s population to half a million people over the next 30 to 40 years.
Atchison said Monday that autonomous vehicles driven by a computer and connected to the traffic system through the Internet need to be part of the growth plan.
“If we don’t include this in our plans for the next 30 to 50 to 100 years, we will be very sorry in the future,” Atchison said.
Atchison told reporters he did not see autonomous vehicles mentioned in the growth plan, but he said it’s important the plan be the right one for Saskatoon.
He urged city hall administrative staff to look into the implications of driverless vehicles and suggested the major automotive manufacturers be contacted to determine their plans.
Early planners for downtown Saskatoon showed foresight when they opted to build the city for motorized vehicles rather than horses and buggies, Atchison noted.
“I think this is right around the corner and if we don’t peek around the corner to see what’s there, citizens of our community later will be quite disappointed,” he said.
Carl Kuhnke, the managing director of the Saskatchewan centre of excellence for transportation and infrastructure at the University of Saskatchewan, said driverless vehicles are closer than many people think.
“Any city that’s worth its salt has to be thinking about autonomous and connected vehicles,” Kuhnke, who is also the chair of a national committee on autonomous vehicles, said in an interview.
Kuhnke pointed out driverless vehicles are being tested in Ontario and that rules could be ready in six months to govern their operation on American roads.
Driverless vehicles could become a regular feature on Saskatoon roads in 15 years, he predicted.
“Safety is one of the biggest advantages,” Kuhnke said. “Efficiency is the other.”
While driverless vehicles are expected to result in far fewer collisions, a more efficient transportation system will mean fewer overall vehicles, he said.
Car ownership will change, too, Kuhnke projected, with perhaps a group of people living in one building sharing a single vehicle.
As a result of fewer vehicles, infrastructure will be less expensive and there will be less need for parking spaces downtown, he added.
Public transportation will also change, Kuhnke said, with smaller buses and less defined routes as driverless buses are able to respond better to individual riders.
Saskatoon’s growth plan focuses on the establishment of a bus rapid transit system, more people living downtown and a new core bridge. The city is planning a summit on March 14 to present the plan and hear from the public.
Any city that’s worth its salt has to be thinking about autonomous and connected vehicles.
CARL KUHNKE