Could self-driving cars get their own lane to airport?
Q San Jose and the Valley Transportation Authority should be embarrassed. All that money wasted on light rail and not even a stop at the airport. It’s where light rail should have started. I thought San Jose was trying to go green, not force us to use our cars.
Frank Lux San Jose
A Frank sent a lengthy email to Mayor Sam Liccardo. Here is what the mayor wrote back and shared with Mr. Roadshow:
“I agree that light rail should have gone to the airport when that line was built 26 years ago. Now we face a different, and much more expensive, challenge: retrofitting a line that would cost $800 million or more, at a time when we’ve got many other transit projects (BART, Caltrain electrification, Diridon Station, bus rapid transit, and Eastridge light rail).
“That’s why I’m working with our DOT team to explore some less costly alternatives, including an autonomous-only lane between Diridon and the airport. Stay tuned.”
A OK, Mayor Sam, you’ve got Mr. Roadshow’s attention. Please tell me more about this idea for a lane dedicated to self-driving cars.
Q “A city would designate an entire lane of traffic (each way, of course) for a continuously-operating fleet of autonomous vehicles, excluding other traffic. Several technologists and venture capitalists with whom I’ve spoken have opined that AV technology will only get widespread acceptance if the industry can identify cities or states that allow this kind of dipping of the proverbial toe in the water, because the challenges of mixed traffic are much more complex than of an AV-only lane.
“We’ve convened several dozen folks in the industry to look at options where San Jose could take a leadership role with AVonly lanes, and our DOT has been evaluating a few corridors, but the one I’m particularly interested in is the route along Coleman from the airport to Diridon.
It makes sense for air travelers looking for a quick, inexpensive way to get to various transit options, and it would help support San Jose as Silicon Valley’s urban center.”
A And this from Jim-the San Jose-DOT boss:
Q “We are preparing a Request for Information (RFI) that is targeted for release in the June timeframe that would ask companies in the AV industry to give us their ideas for testing and eventually implementing AV in our city.
“The RFI would provide some suggested areas or routes for testing AV technology, such as between the airport and Diridon, that would solve specific transportation challenges.
“We would then be looking for information in the form of proposals on the best use of routes, infrastructure and AV technology for the suggested locations, or even other areas. I’m not sure if anyone will propose that entire lanes be dedicated an AV lane.
“Closing a lane of traffic would likely have an impact on traffic conditions and could trigger environmental review, and other considerations.
“This is far from fully developed, but we’re interested in hearing what ideas the automated vehicle industry has.”
A Me, too.