Invent the street

Write a proposal for one block of Quay Street. It should make room for the flour van, buses, passengers, pedestrians, and driverless cars without assuming that every car or every street will change at once.

Start with the curb. Reserve a marked loading zone for deliveries from 5:30 to 8:00 a.m. Keep the bus stop clear at all times. Create a short pickup and drop-off zone outside those delivery hours, with a time limit that applies to driverless and human-driven cars alike. Use signs, painted markings, and enforcement that a driver or fleet operator can understand.

Then give empty vehicles somewhere else to go. Designate part of the underused garage two blocks inland as a waiting and charging area. Require participating fleets to send cars there when they have no passenger or scheduled pickup. The city can monitor compliance through fleet trip records and curb observations, then adjust the number of spaces if cars continue to circle.

Set a short pilot: one block, one garage area, one or more participating fleets, and a defined review period. Measure blocked deliveries, bus delays, curb violations, empty miles near the block, and whether cars actually use the garage. Keep the proposal only if the delivery van can stop, the bus can pull in, and the ride service still works for passengers.