Around 1,300 business and civic leaders packed into a ballroom as part of the Downtown Seattle Association’s (DSA) annual State of Downtown. Renowned urban design expert and UrbanFootprint Co-Founder Peter Calthorpe delivered the keynote and cautioned against viewing autonomous cars as a solution to congestion.
“Driverless car technology, often held up as a way to ease road congestion, isn’t the answer to Seattle’s traffic woes”, said Calthorpe. “Autonomous vehicles are not going to solve our traffic problems, they’re going to make it worse.”
Like Uber-style ride shares, Calthorpe asserts driverless cars would spend much of their time on the road searching for riders. “Driverless cars also threaten community-building”, Calthorpe said, “further isolating people and atomizing our urban environment.”
Read more about Peter’s talk on The Puget Sound Business Journal.
