Self-driving vehicles could begin tooling down a bustling Atlanta street full of cars, buses, bicyclists and college students, as the city vies with other communities nationwide to test the emerging technology.
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Atlanta would become one of the largest urban areas for testing self-driving vehicles if plans come together for a demonstration as early as September.
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Nationwide, 10 sites were designated last month as proving grounds for automated vehicles by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
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They include North Carolina turnpikes, the eastern Iowa prairie and a Michigan site where World War II bombing aircraft were produced in a factory built by automobile pioneer Henry Ford. Atlanta isn’t on the list, but city officials nevertheless hope to make an impact.
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Backers of driverless cars say they could be part of a broader effort to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure, something President Donald Trump has pledged to do. As roads and highways are rebuilt, we think it would be very, very wise to build modern infrastructure with 21st-century capability in mind, said Paul Brubaker, president and CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based Alliance for Transportation Innovation.
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Self-driving vehicles, he said, should be a national priority.
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The Trump administration hasn’t revealed its approach to the technology, but two U.S. senators this month announced a bipartisan effort to help speed deployment of the vehicles on the nation’s roads. Republican John Thune of South Dakota and Democrat Gary Peters of Michigan said they’re considering legislation that clears hurdles and advances innovation in self-driving vehicle technology.
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Atlanta has sought proposals from companies for a demonstration of an autonomous vehicle on North Avenue later this year, city documents show.
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The street, which connects the Georgia Institute of Technology campus to some of the South’s tallest skyscrapers, would be among the busiest urban environments yet for such testing.
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In Atlanta, city officials say a key goal is to create optimal…