A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 18-42, regarding Autonomous Vehicles testing

City of Cambridge Community Development Department – Iram Farooq, Assistant City Manager Traffic, Parking, and Transportation – Joseph E. Barr, Director MEMORANDUM To: Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager From: Joseph E. Barr, Director of Traffic, Parking, and Transportation Iram Farooq, Assistant City Manager for Community Development Date: June 19, 2018 Re: Awaiting Report 18-42 – Report on Autonomous Vehicle Testing in Cambridge This memo is in response to Order 12 from the April 2, 2018 City Council Meeting (Awaiting Report 18-42), which requests a report on the testing of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) in Cambridge and requests that specific conditions be included in any testing that occurs. Staff from the Community Development and Traffic, Parking, and Transportation Departments have been working in coordination with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission (MAPC), and other municipal governments on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) related to the testing of AVs in Massachusetts. This MOU, along with a related “Application to Test Autonomous Vehicles on Public Ways in Massachusetts” will provide a broader and more standardized structure for AV testing to occur across multiple municipalities. Under this MOU, which will be ceremonially signed on Thursday, June 21, companies wishing to test AVs in Massachusetts will be able to complete and submit a single application and testing plan to MassDOT that would allow them to test in any municipality that has signed the MOU, assuming that the application and testing plan are approved. Prior to this structure, companies interested in testing AVs were required to develop separate agreements with each municipality where they wanted to test, as well an agreement with MassDOT. The AV industry indicated that this structure is overly complex and has been inhibiting additional testing from occurring in Massachusetts, and therefore requested that the Commonwealth develop a somewhat more streamlined approach. This agreement is the result of this streamlining attempt, and is expected to be signed by over a dozen municipalities (including Boston and Somerville), along with MassDOT and the Department of Conservation and Recreation. By signing this document, the City is making three key commitments: • Work collaboratively with MassDOT and the other signatories to develop a single “Application to Test Autonomous Vehicles on Public Ways in Massachusetts” by December 31, 2018.

Page 2 of 2 • Identify approved testing locations within Cambridge, which will be listed in the Testing Phase Schedule in the Application. • Work with MassDOT and the other signatories to review the technological advancements, federal policy progress, and developments in the AV industry at least every six months and make appropriate changes to the testing application and/or testing phase schedule. Importantly, the structure of the testing application gives each municipality the right to opt out of testing with a specific company that is applying, which gives us the flexibility to be able to avoid working with a company or technology that we feel is not appropriate in Cambridge. Given the recent fatality associated with AV testing in Arizona, we feel that this opt out clause provides Cambridge and other municipalities with a level of comfort that we can control our own destiny, while still giving companies that wish to test AVs a more standardized and predictable structure. As we have started to work with MassDOT, MAPC, and the other signatories to this MOU on the testing application and the testing phase schedule, we have passed along the conditions requested in this Policy Order and have continued to argue for inclusion of these requirements in the testing documents. Although several additional discussions are needed to finalize these documents, the initial response we have received has been positive and we expect that these conditions will be included in the final requirements. Based on initial feedback on AVs and experience with testing in other communities, we believe that one of the most critical next steps between now and finalizing the testing application and the testing phase schedule, is to engage with the local Cambridge community on this topic. This outreach will be intended to help local residents and stakeholders understand the potential benefits and pitfalls of AV testing, the process that will be used to vet and approve companies for testing, and the feedback mechanisms that will be available if/when testing occurs in Cambridge. By helping to increase the understanding of AVs and the manner in which testing will occur in Massachusetts, our hope is that this outreach will help residents feel comfortable with AV testing, provide an opportunity to explain the steps we are taking to make sure AV testing is as safe as possible, and allow us to proactively identify any issues that are of particular concern. We expect to begin this outreach soon after Labor Day, so that there is sufficient time for a dialogue with the community before we finalize the testing application by the end of the calendar year. In addition to this feedback, the City will also launching a Future of Mobility Study later this year, which will address longer-term issues related to the commercial deployment of AVs As staff move forward with developing the testing documents and preparing for the outreach process described above, we will continue to keep the City Council up to date on the progress that is occurring. In particular, as the testing application and testing phase schedule are being further refined, we will make sure that the Council is aware of if and how the conditions requested in the original Policy Order are being included, along with any other significant issues that may arise during these negotiations.