As they become more common on some U.S. streets, autonomous vehicles are impeding emergency response operations and blocking traffic, idling in neighborhoods, and defying law enforcement.
What’s a self-driving car to do when it’s not doing its job? For Waymo vehicles in Phoenix, the answer is parking, lights and sensors still on, in legal curbside parking spots, reports Lane Sainty for Arizona Republic.
According to Waymo, “Continuing to drive around would add to traffic congestion and be inefficient, he said, and waiting nearby — as opposed to going back to a Waymo facility — means vehicles can arrive quickly when called.”
The Waymo rollout in Phoenix, like in other cities, hasn’t been entirely smooth. “On April 7, a busy First Friday night downtown, a number of self-driving Waymo vehicles came to a stop along First Street, the resulting traffic jam captured in a viral TikTok. And on Wednesday morning, an autonomous Waymo vehicle stopped unexpectedly in the middle of Roosevelt Row, forcing commuters to drive around it.”
In San Francisco, writes Joe Eskenazi in a Mission Local article, self-driving cars are causing even bigger headaches, in some cases impeding emergency vehicles and personnel and driving into dangerous situations. “To date, no firefighter has been run over, and no fire victim has suffered because emergency personnel have been unable to move their vehicles or access fire hydrants. But this, like the fact there was no electricity running through those downed Muni wires, appears to be a series of lucky breaks.”
FULL STORY: Where do driverless cars go when they're on break? Some idle in Phoenix neighborhoods
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Planning for Accessibility: Proximity is More Important than Mobility
Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
Eviction Looms for Low-Income Tenants as Rent Debt Rises
Nonprofit housing operators across the country face almost $10 billion in rent debt.
Brightline West Breaks Ground
The high-speed rail line will link Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area.
Colorado Bans No-Fault Evictions
In most cases, landlords must provide a just cause for evicting tenants.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.