New Mobility Street Design: A Case Study of Autonomous Vehicles in San Francisco

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) offer an opportunity to significantly reshape urban streets. However, much like predictions of AV uptake and usage patterns, the form and extent of this street reshaping is highly uncertain. While numerous studies identify the impact AVs may have on street operations and policy, this paper presents the first case study to investigate AVs’ potential influence on street design. As an auto-oriented thoroughfare slated for significant redevelopment in the coming decades, 4th Street in San Francisco provided an ideal case study for future-proofed street design. The 4th Street new mobility street design methodology comprised four steps. First, transportation and land use data were used to generate existing and projected conditions. Second, future mode share scenarios were developed using a range of AV market uptake assumptions. Third, application of existing data to the new mode share scenarios produced future capacity and demand data. Finally, this data enabled development of a new people-centered and future-proofed street design. This research produces two key findings. First, in urban areas, the curb will be the center of increasing levels of conflict. As AV services escalate passenger loading demand, on-street parking will remain in high demand if legacy vehicles remain in circulation. Balancing passenger loading with on-street parking will be crucial. Additionally, building more high-quality bicycle facilities will remain critical to achieving safer, more sustainable communities. Second, AVs are highly likely to bring greater efficiencies to roadway operations, presenting a significant opportunity to repurpose this regained road capacity for other modes.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ABE30 Standing Committee on Transportation Issues in Major Cities.
• Authors:
  • Ruhl, Melissa
  • Baumgardner, William
  • Walker, Justin
  • Peers, Vanessa
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2018-1-7 to 2018-1-11
• Date: 2018

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 18p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Autonomous intelligent cruise control; Highway design; Intelligent vehicles; Mobility; Urban design
• Geographic Terms: San Francisco (California)
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01661310
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 18-05038
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Feb 26 2018 1:47PM