Driverless vehicles may soon make their way down one of Atlanta’s busiest streets.
The city plans to turn North Avenue into a “smart street” over the next few years and it issued an RFI or “Request for Information” for companies that manufacture or promote autonomous vehicles to help.
Leaders want to use a driverless vehicle to test smart applications such as “smart signals,” traffic signals that know what’s on the road, or detection devices that are supposed to warn motorists about a possible collision with a pedestrian or bicyclist. The technology is part of a plan to upgrade North Avenue between Luckie and Dallas streets for the future of driverless vehicles.
“This is a unique opportunity,” said Faye DiMassimo, general manager of Renew Atlanta. “We can get a glimpse into the future.”
Driverless vehicles are being tested across the country and car manufacturers such as Tesla and Ford are investing in “connected” cars that can be run by computer. The technology also is being touted by rideshare giant Uber as the next big trend in automobiles.
Atlanta plans to invest about $3 million to upgrade 18 traffic signals on North Avenue to connect to sensors in the roadway and with each other to access traffic as well as pedestrian and bicyclist interaction, DiMassimo said. The technology could, for instance, give a bus that is trying to get through a traffic light a little more time to make it through. Stripes, which autonomous cars read to make sure the vehicles stay in the lanes, will also be re-striped.
DiMassimo said the technology can help reduce traffic congestion on the road and address the high volume of accidents along the stretch of road.
“Right now the signals in that area are not optimized,” she said. “There’s a lot of stop and go.”
The city is partnering with the Atlanta Regional Commission, Georgia Tech, MARTA, the state department of transportation and others on the project. DiMassimo hopes to receive answers to the city’s RFI by the holidays.
And she hopes those interested will pay for the cost of using the vehicle, whether it be a car, van or something else.
“Our hope is that because of the desires of the vendors in this space it will be a sponsored demonstration,” she said.
