But we better be prepared to make some tough decisions, because the future is a little freaky.

While Mayor Tom Tate at least has shown he has the courage of his convictions, it’s a continual worry that so many of our residents seem stuck in the past.

And yes, I’m talking about light rail. But that’s just the beginning of what our city will need as we surge towards seven figures.

When it comes to the G:Link, the one thing we can all agree on is that it’s the most controversial major project to ever come to the Coast, with protests against the proposed Stage 4 extension at fever pitch.

The LNP has now vowed to completely review the project if elected in October, including considering alternative routes and options, a move the Mayor blasted as ‘playing politics’ and placing both the project and the future of the city in jeopardy.

City Hall, on the other hand, has dedicated $14 million of its budget to ‘in kind’ works for the 13km Stage 4 of the tramline – to go from Burleigh to the Gold Coast Airport. The state government has matched that enthusiasm for the project, which is now in the detailed design phase with its business case underway.

But what’s really scary is that if this is how our residents react to a simple old-school tram, how will they handle what’s just around the corner?

Because I’ve seen it … and I’ll admit even I was a little weirded out.

Currently in San Francisco visiting family, our transportation of choice has been a driverless car.

As the car, a Jaguar no less, rolled up to my sister’s house, I thought there must be nothing more disturbing than seeing an empty car park itself in your driveway.

But I was wrong. Being chauffeured around town by a phantom is even more disturbing. The first time, at least. After that, we all got used to it and enjoyed the smooth driving, the ability to have private conversations at full volume or, best of all, no conversation at all.

While this technology is currently being trialled in Mount Isa, over here it’s completely mainstream, with line-ups of Waymo cars at almost every intersection.

There might be plenty of examples where we’d do well to choose the road less travelled versus the choices made by San Francisco, but driverless cars certainly seem like the right way to go. And not just for passengers.

Driverless technology promises everything from fewer road accidents, with an estimated 94 per cent reduction in road fatalities if autonomous cars become the primary mode of transport, to less traffic and reduced car ownership, with most driverless cars run as shared vehicles either owned by an aggregator or a household. Who needs two cars when one car can do all the scheduled drop-offs and pick-ups before taking itself back home to park in the single-car garage.

An automated car network is also linked to improved liveability for real people, with a lack of human error meaning roads can shrink down to minimal size, pedestrian crossings can be more conveniently placed and parking spaces eradicated. Public transportation is also predicted to increase as people use driverless cars for the ‘first/last mile’ between home and train/bus hub – because, as we discovered in SF, without drivers, these cars are cheap to hire, and you don’t need to worry about parking, or parking tickets.

Now, that’s not to say this technology is not without its drawbacks, there have already been accidents – although not many – in America, and anything new is always frightening.

But as we drive forward into this sometimes scary new world, we’d do well to remember that fortune favours the brave. So let’s try not to hit the brakes.