February 21, 2019 @ 11:10 am
Carla Bailo, President and CEO of Ann Arbor, MI based Center for Automotive Research (CAR) will be the featured speaker at the McLean County Regional Planning Commission’s (MCRPC) Fourteenth Annual Community Information Forum. Bailo will speak on oncoming deployment of autonomous vehicles.
The event will take place at a 7:00 a.m. breakfast on Wed., April 10th at the Chateau Hotel & Conference Center and Conference Center located at 1621 Jumer Dr. in Bloomington. The event admission fee is $30.
Event registration is available HERE.
Stakeholders in McLean County should be thinking about the oncoming deployment of autonomous vehicles (AV), the first of which we will likely see within the next few years. AV’s offer substantial benefits for the efficiency and safety of vehicular travel. Some benefits include lower accident rates and first and last mile solutions, the latter of which has been a consistent issue for public transit agencies. However, there will also be challenges with AV's such as exacerbating urban sprawl, increasing vehicle miles traveled, and creating social equity issues. Local governments need to prepare for this mobility revolution. Public policy will largely shape how, how soon, and how smoothly these cars deploy into our communities.
CAR CEO Carla Bailo will discuss how communities need to plan for a future that involves multiple modes of transportation operating seamlessly and simultaneously. Connected and automated vehicles will be part of a transportation future that involves conventional vehicles, vehicle sharing solution, public transportation, ride hailing, and other transportation solutions. As they develop and execute their annual plans, communities will have to plan for their residents taking advantage of a much more flexible but also much more complex transportation system.
MCRPC is partnering with McLean County Chamber of Commerce to bring this event to our community. The annual forum was initiated by the McLean County Regional Planning Commission in 2005 to increase awareness of planning issues and innovative planning and development practices from around the nation. Each forum features a speaker with a history of implementing successful plans and projects.