Note the blue-top simulated autonomous vehicle in special lane to be constructed along Technology Parkway in Peachtree Corners.
By Elliott Brack
Editor and publisher, GwinnettForum
APRIL 27, 2018 | All across the nation, the big new high-tech topic is driverless cars. Wednesday in Peachtree Corners, that Gwinnett city announced a program that lets the city work toward leadership in cutting-edge ideas that may transform innovations in transportation technology. It is being called an advanced vehicle technology accelerator.
The city has allocated $2 million on this emerging technology by which the city hopes to attract transportation-focused companies. Peachtree Corners will install a testing ground for programmed autonomous vehicles on a 1.4-mile route along Technology Parkway. It will be all within the city from Peachtree Parkway to Spalding Drive. The city is working with Prototype Prime, an innovation think tank in Peachtree Corners, and with Atkins, an engineering consulting firm in Atlanta, on this project.
The 1.4-mile segment of Technology Parkway will be retrofitted to accommodate one dedicated lane for a driverless vehicle, plus one lane each way for passenger vehicles. The driverless vehicle will stop at specified location.
However, the vehicle is not expected to provide merely a benefit of hauling passengers. Mayor Mike Mason emphasizes that this new approach is not about ridership of the vehicle, but about stimulating economic activity.
Working together on the advanced vehicle technology accelerator will be Prototype Prime and TechConnectHubs.com. The city seeks to collaborate with major brands and Fortune 500 companies throughout the advanced vehicle ecosystem to focus on transportation challenges for tomorrow.
Sanjay Parekh, director of Prototype Prime, says: “Autonomous vehicles have the ability to improve the quality of life for people and success of business in many ways. We want to be one of the innovations in this area.”
TechConnectHub.com of Peachtree Corners will provide innovation scouting to bring industry expertise to a worldwide network of leaders, who are already working on future solutions.
Wright
Mayor Mason wasn’t at first himself sold when Councilman Alex Wright initially brought up an innovative idea a few years back. “Alex started talking about how Peachtree Corners could stimulate talk on transit. He eventually convinced me and other council members that rail transportation was the old technology, and if we wanted to budget any money for transportation, we had to move to autonomous vehicles and other solutions.
“He kept sending us information on alternative solutions. He saw some of these alternative ideas as a way to make a practical matter pay off. Soon, he had all of us on board.”
Right now Mason says that it appears the only other place where there is an autonomous accelerator in Georgia is at Georgia Tech. “Ours will surely be the only other one outside of the Perimeter.”
After the Council warmed to Wright’s idea, City Manager Brian Johnson suggested a modest feasibility study. It was also suggested that the corridor for the vehicle track be totally within an area the city could control, and not on county or state roads. “Suddenly,” Mason says, “We realized that the street in from our City Hall was perfect for it. Who knows, it could even extend to our City Center that we are building now across from the Forum on Peachtree Parkway.”
At the Wednesday announcement, Mayor Mason added these words: “We’ve had people tell us that collectively, Peachtree Corners can fill the shoes of the late Paul Duke, who originally conceived this area as a place to live and work and play. He created the concept of Peachtree Corners. Now we hope to add more value to what he anticipated as we work to bring more economic development to this area.”
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