Earlier this month, over 2,500 transportation players converged on Detroit for the Intelligent Transportation Society of America’s annual meeting. Participants represented:
- State departments of transportation (DOTs),
- Regional and local transportation and planning agencies,
- Auto manufacturers and suppliers,
- Research organizations,
- Academic institutions, and
- Transportation associations.
The theme – Transportation 2.0, Transforming Mobility for the 21st Century – acknowledged the race we are in to modernize our current transportation system. What are we racing toward?
Improved safety of the transportation network.
More efficient and sustainable movement of people and freight.
Technology to support smooth interaction of connected vehicles, infrastructure, pedestrians, and fully automated vehicles.
And increased accessibility for underserved populations, including older adults, people with disabilities, low-income individuals, and minorities.
While there is a lot of enthusiasm and optimism regarding the near-term deployment of smart technology, there are many unanswered questions.
- How will people fundamentally interact with new forms of transportation, and how will they provide and receive goods and services?
- What new business models will emerge from these changes?
- How will technology work across modes – motor vehicles, pedestrians, bikes, and transit?
- How will the workforce adapt?
- What will be required to protect cybersecurity and privacy?
Last year, SEMCOG and its partner organization, the Metropolitan Affairs Coalition (MAC), learned that a majority of Southeast Michigan residents believe autonomous vehicle technology would make our roads safer.
How our region is preparing for the future of mobility
Southeast Michigan has been at the forefront of testing and deploying intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and connected/autonomous vehicle (CAV) technologies to respond to these questions. Efforts include:
- Safety Pilot Model Deployment and Ann Arbor Connected Vehicle Test Environment, which includes over 1,300 vehicles communicating with each other and selected intersections sharing location and speed data.
- Various MDOT vehicle/infrastructure testing areas, including Chrysler Tech Center, Telegraph Road at 12 and 15 Mile Roads, Farmington Hills, and parts of Novi and Southfield. MDOT is deploying vehicle-to-infrastructure communication technology on more than 120 miles of Metro Detroit “smart corridors,” primarily along I-96/I-696 and I-94, and also including part of US-23.
- U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) and MDOT tested self-driving (platooning) technology along the I-69 corridor and into Ontario via the bridge between Port Huron and Sarnia.
- Mcity Test Facility – a 32-acre proving ground for testing CAVs and technologies in simulated urban and suburban driving environments.
- American Center for Mobility – 10 times bigger than Mcity, this facility was designed to enable safe validation of CAV technology and accelerate development of industry standards.
To learn more about these types of deployments and other mobility technologies, visit PlanetM, a campaign launched two years ago to elevate Michigan as the hub of mobility innovations. PlanetM is a partnership of mobility organizations, communities, educational institutions, research and development, and government agencies that are working together to develop and deploy the mobility technologies.
SEMCOG is well aware of the challenges facing the region’s transportation system, smart technology being one of them. We are busy developing the next long-range plan, the 2045 Regional Transportation Plan for Southeast Michigan. This plan sets priorities and allocates funding to the transportation system for the next few decades. Funds from federal, state, and local sources are used to operate, maintain, and improve the region’s transportation system. And smart technology will play a prominent roll the future of our transportation system.
Did you know that some 37,000 people died on our nation’s roads last year, 680 of them in our region? Reporting on these incidents is often minimal, reflecting our unfortunate acceptance of these tragedies. Development of connected and automated vehicles offers the most significant breakthrough to reduce that number since the advent of the automobile. As reported in the Atlantic Monthly in 2015, researchers estimate driverless cars could, by mid-century, reduce traffic deaths by as much as 90 percent.
I share some of the same concerns many have with Transportation 2.0, but I also marvel at the notion that it could save 33,300 lives per year.
Leave a Reply