News

Source: Pixabay/julientromeur

Autonomous driving: Special test track to be built in Cologne

Now that there are already the first test tracks for autonomous driving in Germany, another one is to be built in Cologne. The council alliance consisting of the Greens, CDU and Volt is campaigning for this. A motion to this effect is to be submitted at the upcoming council meeting on May 16.
Autonomous driving is on the rise everywhere and could be part of the mobility mix of the future, the parliamentary groups say. For this reason, they say, the city administration must seize all opportunities that qualify Cologne for a pilot route for autonomous driving.  This is not the first idea regarding autonomous driving in Cologne, there was already the idea to let self-driving buses drive over the “Rodenkirchener Bridge”.
An exact location for the test track has not yet been determined, but due to Cologne's special location, it is at least certain that the test track will have to meet special requirements. After all, Cologne has several special features. Space is limited and traffic routes are congested, the city is both a logistics location and a traffic hub for the region, and Cologne has a major automaker in the form of Ford. In addition to traffic on the roads, traffic on the water should also be considered and the route should be largely embedded in daily urban traffic.
To what extent this will succeed remains to be seen. The motion must first be decided on May 16 before the city administration can check when and how a Cologne test track for autonomous driving can come.