Here We Go Freedom Buh-Bye: Colorado Considers Lane for Autonomous Vehicles
 |
Transportation planners say an autonomous vehicle lane would help solve traffic jams in Denver.
DENVER January 23, 2018; The Denver Post reports that the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is considering plans that would “embrace the future of self-driving vehicles with a first-in-the-state lane designation for their use.” The strategy comes in a response to projections of “mushrooming traffic” over the next two decades and the rollout of autonomous vehicles.
An autonomous vehicle lane and L.A.-style 10-lane stretches are among the ideas that CDOT is considering that would address future congestion along C-470 through Morrison, US 6 thru Golden and along Colorado 93 between Golden and Boulder, notes the news source.
According to data from the Denver Council of Regional Governments, average daily weekday vehicle counts would increase from about 70,000 at C-470/Bowles Avenue to more than 106,000 by 2040. At Alameda Parkway, the number increases to more than 136,000 vehicles a day in 2040 from 89,000 today.
To address potential volume, CDOT and the WestConnect Corridor Coalition have outlined a series of proposals and alternatives, including one where autonomous vehicles would eventually have a designated lane on C-470.
CDOT’s manager for the project, Ben Davis, told the news source this is the first time the agency has included the prospect of self-driving cars in a formal planning document. While the details of how autonomous vehicles would be integrated into the traffic flow on C-470 are yet to be determined, Davis says the vehicles would probably use existing lanes before more widespread adoption of the technology merits a designated lane.
“This concept assumes vehicle technology will continue to evolve that would allow vehicles to travel in a specified lane to maximize the technological benefits of autonomous vehicles,” he commented.
The news source notes in addition to Colorado, transportation planners in Wisconsin are considering designated lanes for autonomous vehicles along a stretch of Interstate 94, and a similar proposal is percolating for Interstate 5 through Seattle.
