PAVE: How is your city preparing for AVs?
Securing Louisville’s vision for itself in the era of AVs will require conscious, informed policy decisions. In 2018, we wrote our AV Playbook (link: https://av.louky.city/). This plan does not hope to answer every question about AVs, but it does begin the conversation and provide an initial framework by which Louisville can better understand the promises and potential pitfalls of the technology. We have also hosted multiple community conversations around AVs. While cities cannot shape their destinies alone on this issue, by starting early Louisville can maximize the benefits of the technology and leverage AVs to continue making our City a better place to live.
PAVE: What is the most important thing you’ve learned from your work with AVs?
We haven’t worked with them yet, but understanding the role that professional development and education play is essential. If we wait until they hit our streets, we lose our opportunity. We need to think about all of these things before they happen and changing minds takes time.