Hartford Business Journal

8 Hartford Business Journal • May 15, 2017 www.HartfordBusiness.com state and its automobile industry. Hartford and Stamford are considered possible test sites, he said. Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim also has urged the General Assembly to consider Bridgeport as a test- ing ground. The bill passed out of a joint Transportation Committee in March and awaits a vote in the full Senate. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said he wants to position Con- necticut as a leader in the driverless-car sector. "In order to accomplish this," Malloy said in a writ- ten statement, "we must compete for the interest of the driverless car manufacturing and technology compa- nies. That's why we are working with the legislature to prepare for the full deployment of this technology on our roads and to establish a framework for testing this technology." If the bill is enacted, it's dif- ficult to say when autonomous vehicles could hit Connecticut streets, said Garrett Eucalitto, undersecretary for transporta- tion, conservation and devel- opment for the state's Office of Policy and Management. OPM and sister agencies first must establish the parameters for cities to apply for the test program, then municipalities would need to apply and find private technology partners, he said. That could take upwards of a year but until legisla- tion is finalized, it's difficult to predict timing. "Our position really is that we don't want to be caught off-guard as car manufacturers begin to launch these on the streets," Eucalitto said. "We want to make sure that we plan for their arrival by taking the time to look at the impacts on the state, but especially our roads, our insurance statutes, our land-use planning," and whether statutes need to be changed as the vehicles proliferate, he said. OPM, seeing the evolution of driverless technology, had already convened other state departments last fall, including insurance, transportation, motor vehicles, and emergency services and public protection to begin reviewing existing statutes, how driverless cars fit in them, and what issues could arise, Eucalitto said. "The statutes were drafted before any concept of driverless vehicles existed, so there are glaring holes in the current construct," he said. For example, Eucalitto said, statutes require proof of insurance to register a motor vehicle, but if it is a driverless vehicle, would the insurance cover it if the individual in the car is not a licensed driver? If there is no driver in the vehicle, who's at fault for an accident? "It also is unclear about who is 'operating' the vehicle," he said. "Those are just a couple of the many gray areas." Before testing, Connecticut would check with other states conducting testing for guidance and with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which issued guidelines last year for states to consider in drafting autonomous vehicle legislation. Testing would occur in designated areas, with the state wanting to monitor, for example, how the vehicles do in snow-covered lanes. The state would want to see such results before law- makers pass any laws allowing driverless vehicles any- where in the state, especially on highways like 95, 91 or the Merritt Parkway, Eucalitto said. "Before we get to that point, we would like to see them operating safely in a constrained area so that they can be monitored and they don't pose a hazard to the public," he said. After all testing and taskforce recommendations, the state could better determine how statutes and regula- tions would need to change. Risks, rewards Benefits from the technology include safety, by elimi- nating the human error responsible for most crashes; Q&A Rail could be key to boosting CT's ports Q&A talks to Evan H. Matthews, who was named the first-ever executive director of the newly formed Connecticut Port Authority in September. Q: What are the three biggest opportuni- ties to increase the economic impact of Connecti- cut's ports? A: The biggest opportunity cur- rently underway is the New Haven Navigation Channel deepening study, where the Port Authority is working with the city of New Haven, New Haven Port Authority, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deter- mine the economic impact of increas- ing the depth of the channel to 40 feet. It is currently authorized for 35 feet. A deeper channel increases economies of scale and greater efficiency in New Haven, making Connecticut's largest port complex more competitive. Another opportu- nity we are working on is greater inter- modal connectivity. Containerized cargo moves in, out and through Con- necticut by truck, creating conges- tion and lost productivity. We have several opportunities to build intermodal terminals or inland ports where Connecticut com- panies can move containers by rail. These terminals will reduce friction in the supply chain, lower transportation costs, and make Connecticut shippers more com- petitive in a global marketplace where $25 to $50 is a huge differ- ence in freight costs. Another great opportunity for economic growth is the expan- sion at Electric Boat in Groton and New London. We are working with partners throughout southeastern Connecticut on land-use planning and infrastructure projects need- ed to facilitate the expansion of submarine manufacturing. Q: In a 2010 report, Con- necticut's maritime indus- try was estimated to have accounted for $5 billion in business output. How has the industry fared in recent years? How big could it be in 10 years? A: These are great questions, and we are working on economic impact studies to measure the size of the maritime economy. What we do know is that in 2015, our ports handled 11.4 million tons of cargo. Q: Previously, you worked for the Quonset Development Corp. in North Kingstown, R.I., which oversees a business park and the Port of Davisville. You oversaw a significant expan- sion of the Port of Davisville. What did you accomplish and what lessons from that experi- ence can help Connecticut? A: Yes, in Davisville, we had a great relationship with our private- sector partnerships, which yielded significant cargo growth. And, I plan to build on these experiences here in Connecti- cut. Port authorities do not drive cargo growth alone. Ports are a complex of connected service providers, helping shippers and carriers move goods quickly and efficiently to the final destination. Port authorities facilitate this by investing in infrastructure, coor- dinating across dif- ferent agencies, and providing technical assistance where needed to unlock new services or increase efficiencies across supply chains. We can also work with federal, state and local governments on policy and regulatory issues in ways that our private-sector part- ners cannot. Q: There's been talk/spec- ulation that the widening of the Panama Canal, which sig- nificantly increases its capac- ity, could help Connecticut. Is the state seeing any benefit and are there opportunities for the state to cash in on? A: As I mentioned previously, the deepening of the New Haven channel is to help us benefit from the new Panama Canal. We are also focused on developing bet- ter intermodal connections to the larger container ports with the new class of large ships through new rail and barge feeder services. Any time we reduce cost, we generate savings to our shippers. What have you accomplished since taking the reins of the Port Authority? A: Our biggest accomplishment so far has been approving a capi- tal program of over $23 million in Dec. 2016. In our first submission to the state bond commission in January, we received $4.5 million for the State Pier Facility in New London. We are planning to begin planning and design work this July. We also launched the Small Harbor Improvement Projects Program, where we invest in municipalities throughout Con- necticut. n EVAN H. MATTHEWS Executive director, Connecticut Port Authority from page 1 Driverless regs no easy task Uber's autonomous cars have experienced some issues, including a driverless crash that occurred in Arizona in March. Sen. Carlo Leone (D-Stamford) Every self-driving Uber is equipped with an iPad in the backseat to show riders what the car can "see." FOCUS TRANSPORTATION Continued P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D

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