Peachtree Corners, April 25, 2018 — The City of Peachtree Corners has officially launched an autonomous shuttle program along Technology Parkway. The shuttle will run on a 1.4 miles autonomous driving route. The city council voted and approved the plan on Tuesday evening.
Mayor Mike Mason make the announcement along with representatives from Atkins consulting firm, Prototype Prime, and Partnership Gwinnett at a press conference at the City Hall. City officials treated the program as an economic development effort to attract businesses and companies involved with self-driving vehicle technology to the city.
“What we want to do is to attract start ups and existing businesses to come to Prototype Prime and help them test their technology on our test bed. In return, we're also trying to attract businesses here to be part of the community,” said Mayor Mason.
The test route would run between Peachtree Parkway and Spalding Drive near Norcross High School. The test route will be modified to accommodate both autonomous and traditional vehicles. Test shuttle will run on a bi-directional lane.
The shuttle will take approximately six minutes to travel the entire distance of the test route, according to Brian Bolic, Vice President of Atkins.
“We have already started conversations with several leading technology companies conducting research in autonomous vehicles technology to be involved with the project,” said Sanjay Parikh, Executive Director of Prototype Prime, a technology startup incubator located in Peachtree Corners.
