^Blog Self-Driving Vehicles May Be the Answer to Seattle-Area Traffic Problems

The sudden appearance of driverless cars, not long ago the stuff of science fiction, has some Puget Sound transportation managers a little spooked.

“We do not want the technology to decide what kind of city we will have,” says Benjamin de la Peña, deputy director for policy, planning, mobility and right of way at Seattle’s Department of Transportation, pointing to the way planners in the early 1900s reshaped cities to accommodate automobiles. “We need to decide what kind of city we want and have the technology adapt to that kind of city.”

The recent death of an Arizona woman who was struck by a self-driving Uber car raised an alarm that perhaps these vehicles aren’t ready for prime time. But experts continue to believe that the autonomous vehicle, or AV, will see a significant increase in usage during the coming decade. How cities prepare for its arrival will determine whether it exacerbates urban problems or provides a solution to increasingly congested highways.

“The technology is already here. You can summon a driverless vehicle through Lyft in Nevada and Phoenix, in Boston and Atlanta,” says Avery Ash, head of AV development at Inrix, the Kirkland-based transportation analytics and connected-car services company. As AV numbers grow, Ash says, “It’s going to be up to the public sector to make sure we are addressing the negative externalities as they come to light.”

There may not be much time to prepare. Tom Alberg, a cofounder of Seattle’s Madrona Venture Group and a strong supporter of AV technology, thinks the number of AVs in use will increase more rapidly than most people anticipate. “My guess would be that by 2022, we are going to have a lot of vehicles with strong autonomous capabilities on the roads,” Alberg says. He expects that in 12 years, autonomous cars will account for more than 50 percent of new-car sales. “I think AVs are going to be very helpful for low-income communities, people with disabilities and seniors — people who can’t drive,” Alberg adds.

This article originally appeared in Seattle Business Magazine’s September edition. To continue reading, click the link below.