Five city councillors, in partnership with Calgary Economic Development, want Calgary to become a test bed for driverless vehicles.
Councillors Richard Pootmans, Evan Woolley, Gian-Carlo Carra, Shane Keating and Peter Demong have signed a motion, scheduled to go before city council next week, asking city administration to collaborate with Calgary Economic Development to study the merits of testing autonomous vehicles on Calgary’s roadways.
Turning Calgary into a centre to test driverless vehicles requires permission from the province — Ontario, for example, has passed legislation to facilitate such testing.
The motion asks that if it’s found there is merit to the idea, that the city then request the province to introduce legislation that would pave the way for autonomous vehicles to legally drive on city streets.
Ward 6 Coun. Richard Pootmans.
“We’re not testing on public roads in a meaningful way quite yet, and that’s what I’d like to see,” said Ward 6 Coun. Pootmans.
“It’s a taste of the future.”
The councillors’ request comes after elected officials had a long discussion about the future of transportation at a recent committee meeting, and found an appetite from vendors who wanted to see Calgary become a test centre.
“We might be a bit late. Ontario has been at this for about a year and a half, about 18 (U.S.) states are doing it as well,” Pootmans said.
“What’s been suggested to us by both manufacturers . . . but also the technology vendors and suppliers have said, ‘We love this area for the same reason the film industry does so well here.’ We have a variety of climates and a variety of landscapes.”
While he still hasn’t taken a self-driving car for a spin like his colleagues Woolley and Demong, who recently travelled down Glenmore Trail in a Tesla, Pootmans said he’s excited by the concept of driverless cars.
“Where it gets exciting and interesting for a city is, does this mean more or less traffic on the roads? Does this mean more or less parkades?” he said.
“If we’re going to come to work in our own little wood-panelled environment, with our favourite music, reading a newspaper or listening to the radio, then that’s sort of Jetson-like. That’s pretty cool.”
