Portland doesn't have automated vehicles, nor does it have a comprehensive policy describing what to do with so-called self-driving cars, but two elected leaders offered a sneak peek of what could be a fierce debate to come.
The City Council held a hearing Wednesday on amendments to the Transportation System Plan, a 20-year blueprint to transportation investments. City transportation officials briefed elected officials on the dense document, which gives preference to pedestrians, bicyclists and transit in dictating how the city will move people and goods around in the future.
That document also includes a section suggesting recommended policy to ensure automated vehicles operate safely for all road users, improve travel times and make the city's transportation system more efficient. The document also referenced testing driverless cars at least initially in a limited fashion.
"We haven't taken a position on this," Commissioner Nick Fish said during the hearing, "and you're already talking about testing. So, what have I missed?"
The meeting came days after an automated car killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona, sparking international headlines and causing Uber to halt all self-driving car tests in the United States and Canada.
The car was reportedly in autonomous mode but there also was a driver behind the wheel of the Volvo XC90 in the Tempe incident, according to media reports.
Portland Bureau of Transportation officials were quick to note they favor a "phased-in approach" in the city to self-driving cars. Portland has no rules in place that would prevent an automated company from coming into the market.
Art Pearce, the transportation agency's planning and projects group manager, tried to allay Fish's concerns.
Pearce said the transportation plan doesn't put driverless cars above any other mode of travel, and the city explicitly said it would give preference to driverless cars that are operated as fleets to benefit larger populations, are electric and are not owned by individuals.
Fish, who has been a vocal critic of ride-hailing operations, said he was agnostic on the matter of automated cars. "I just want to be sure that we don't sort of piecemeal get into a position," he said, "where it's, 'Oh, the train has left the station.'"
Pearce said the city's long-term planning document, which wouldn't dictate any other automated vehicle policy, is "actually very aggressive."
He added that the train hadn't left the station.
Commissioner Amanda Fritz, also a critic of ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft, said she had concerns about the automated vehicle situation as well. Fritz said she wants city policy to specifically say these technologies must be used to augment and enhance public transportation.
"If they're going to compete," she said, "that's a bad thing, and I think we need to state that clearly in the policy."
She also said city policy should stipulate automated vehicles are not allowed to speed.
Chris Smith, vice chair of Portland's Planning and Sustainability Committee, told the council the automated vehicle question is "an opportunity and a challenge."
He said the question about regulation should not distract from the point that ultimately, Tempe tragedy aside, automated vehicles should be "much safer than human drivers."
The technology isn't there yet, though. "I look forward to that endpoint," he said.
Smith also cautioned that federal or state government could preempt Portland and institute policies dictating automated vehicle use.
The council will vote on the entire transportation package and the 20-year document April 11.
-- Andrew Theen
atheen@oregonian.com
503-294-4026
@andrewtheen