In a press conference highlighting a new federal pilot program launching locally, dignitaries from all levels of government heralded the start of Phase One of the Great Machine Takeover in Tampa Monday.
OK, not really, but they did announce a new program that, in theory, could help eliminate human error as a cause of auto collisions on area roads as well as create better traffic flows so to reduce our existential anguish (and carbon footprint).
The Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority is one of only a few cities to receive a federal grant ($2.4 million initially, possibly $17 million total) to be a guinea pig for its Connected Vehicle program. The grant will help the county implement technologies like sensors to help cars detect and respond to wrong-way drivers and other staring-at-one's-phone-while-driving/walking-related incidents.
“It really holds the potential to reduce fatalities by as much as 80 percent. And when it comes to traffic, and keeping traffic moving, it holds the ability to give millions and millions of hours back to traveling Americans in congested cities like Tampa," said U.S. Undersecretary of Transportation for Policy Peter Rogoff. “We will all be safer, I assure you, with these technologies in the vehicles, in the streets, in the traffic lights, in our handheld computers. This is how we're going to save lives and save time.”
These technologies include self-driving cars, which you may start see driving up and down the Selmon, autos and buses retrofitted with equipment that allows them to communicate with one another, smartphone apps to alert pedestrians and drivers to potential danger and intelligently timed traffic lights.
“Our goals are to improve safety for vehicles, pedestrians and bicycles, improve traffic flow…and reduce Tampa Bay's carbon footprint,” sad THEA executive director Joe Waggoner at the press conference, which was held at THEA's nifty Transportation Management Center.
Democratic U.S. Senator Bill Nelson helped THEA secure the grant, and was in town to talk about what it means for the region and the country as a whole.
“This pilot program is going to tackle some of the problems that unfortunately have made this city one of the 20 most congested cities in the country,” he said. “The bottom line is, we're bringing transportation into the 21st Century. And, oh, by the way, Tampa is at the center of it all.
State Sen. Jeff Brandes, a St. Petersburg Republican, has been a strong supporter of self-driving cars and rideshare companies and chairs the Senate Transportation Committee. He marveled at how much self-driving car technology has advanced, from a Prius packed to the gills with gear in 2011 to an Audi A7 with a brain the size of an iPad that'll take you 120 miles per hour in 2015, sans driver.
“It's really a holy grail of technology for transportation," he said. "The ability to add safety with fuel efficiency with eased congestion, and add that to emerging technologies of Uber and Lyft and on-demand transportation and we can really begin to see the future of where this technology can go.”
The fuel efficiency part comes from traffic smoothing and better-timed traffic lights to cut back on fuel burned while idling, officials said.
Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn applauded Nelson and the Obama Administration, as well as those representing the region in the legislature for fighting to help move Tampa into a less-nightmarish place in terms of vehicular traffic.
“This is a community that fights for its beliefs and it fights for the opportunity to improve every day,” said Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn. “I will tell you in no uncertain terms that this community is a better place because of this administration. President Obama and Secretary Rogoff and Secretary Foxx and our longtime friend Senator Nelson have been fighting in Washington, DC for us for a very long time.”
This article appears in Sep 10-16, 2015.