No, autonomous cars don't work particularly well. Anecdotally, I saw some crap stuck in the high tension wires atop a utility pole the other day. So I called PG&E and reported it. On my way back from the store I saw the lineman had arrived and was doing his thing. This street had two lanes and was a one way street, and the PG&E bucket truck occupied one of those lanes. Shortly after a Cruise car pulled up behind the truck and stopped. At various points the turn signals and four way flashers were on with no rhyme or reason. Eventually it decided to pass the truck so it navigated into the other lane and just stopped. So now both lanes were blocked, various turn signal incantations went on, and the blocked traffic started honking.
After that… I watched as another Cruise car go full tilt through another intersection and stop a few feet from a pedestrian in the crosswalk. Way too close for comfort. Autonomous cars aren't inherently bad but they shouldn't be beta tested on public roads.
Second point – no, more cars will not revitalize anything. More cars will contribute to more decay no matter what is driving. Take a look at the Embarcadero now versus when it was designed to prioritize cars over people and had an interstate running along it.
No, autonomous cars don't work particularly well. Anecdotally, I saw some crap stuck in the high tension wires atop a utility pole the other day. So I called PG&E and reported it. On my way back from the store I saw the lineman had arrived and was doing his thing. This street had two lanes and was a one way street, and the PG&E bucket truck occupied one of those lanes. Shortly after a Cruise car pulled up behind the truck and stopped. At various points the turn signals and four way flashers were on with no rhyme or reason. Eventually it decided to pass the truck so it navigated into the other lane and just stopped. So now both lanes were blocked, various turn signal incantations went on, and the blocked traffic started honking.
After that… I watched as another Cruise car go full tilt through another intersection and stop a few feet from a pedestrian in the crosswalk. Way too close for comfort. Autonomous cars aren't inherently bad but they shouldn't be beta tested on public roads.
Second point – no, more cars will not revitalize anything. More cars will contribute to more decay no matter what is driving. Take a look at the Embarcadero now versus when it was designed to prioritize cars over people and had an interstate running along it.