Despite repeated calls from San Francisco officials to slow the deployment of self-driving cars, a state commission approved expanded access to San Francisco streets.
The California Public Utilities Commission approved the further deployment of Cruise and Waymo self-driving cars in San Francisco, reports Lynn La in CALmatters. “After six-and-a-half hours of public comment, the commission voted 3-1 to permit the two companies to expand their driverless car operations, enabling them to charge passengers for driverless rides without a human safety driver present, at all hours.”
Planetizen has documented the ‘mayhem’ (in the words of city officials) caused by autonomous cars in San Francisco, where cars have blocked traffic and crashed into emergency response scenes. While proponents of autonomous cars say the vehicles will make roads safer, incidents like this Tesla crash highlight how far the technology still has to go.
According to a Washington Post article by Trisha Thadani and Jeremy B. Merrill, “Aaron Peskin, president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and a frequent critic of the self-driving cars, said he, Mayor London Breed and members of the city’s transportation agencies planned to meet after the vote to ‘discuss next steps.’ He said it is ‘likely’ the city would file for a rehearing, which would be a precursor to litigation against the commission.”
FULL STORY: Driverless cars to fill the streets of San Francisco
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New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
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Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
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Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
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FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
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Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
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Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
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The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association