[IAmEveryone]

Living in a city where people park on the side of the road, I can't wait for autonomous cars to completely transform the urban space.

Currently, there are two lanes of parked cars, plus two sidewalks and (usually) two lanes for traffic.

Autonomous driving would allow cars to park themselves off-site, such as underground garages a block or two away. That alone could double the space available for pedestrians, or other uses of public space such as outside cafes, green spaces etc.

The ability to quickly call a vehicle, adaptable to your current needs (minivan for family on Saturday, open two-seater for a summer date) could also start a major move away from car ownership, reducing the total number.

Improvements in traffic management (shorter distances between cars, coordinated starting/stopping, interleaving intersections) also have the potential to allow us to reduce 4-lane roads to just two. We might even find ways to make one-way streets work for most residential area. All this again frees up public space.

[DisruptiveDave]

All valid points, thanks