Popular Articles
Today Week Month Year


Annoyed residents push back against Amazon’s drone delivery program in Texas
By Ava Grace // Aug 23, 2024

The residents of a quiet city in Texas have pushed back against the noisy drone delivery system by e-commerce giant Amazon.

Mayor John Nichols of College Station in Texas wrote to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in July over the matter. The mayor told the FAA that the city has grown tired of the Amazon Prime Air drones loudly buzzing near their homes.

"Since locating in College Station, residents in neighborhoods adjacent to Prime Air's facility have expressed concern to the city council regarding drone noise levels, particularly during take-off and landing, as well in some delivery options," Nichols stated in the letter.

Nichols' letter echoed the sentiments of several College Station residents, who shared their complaints to CNBC.

"It sounds like a giant hive of bees. You know it's coming because it's pretty loud," said semi-retired orthodontist John Case. He added that "nobody really knew how noisy and annoying it was going to be" when the city agreed to be a test market for Amazon.

Internal medicine doctor Amina Alikhan likened the drones to "a fly coming by your ear over and over and you can't make it stop." She continued: "It is waking us up and disrupting our ability to enjoy both our outdoor and even our indoor spaces." Meanwhile, resident Ralph Thomas Moore remarked that the drone deliveries are "a huge invasion of our personal space" and have "significant impact on everyone in the neighborhood." (Related: Amazon drone deliveries: The greatest threat to privacy Americans have ever seen.)

College Station City Manager Bryan Woods said during a June city council meeting that officials ran tests on a Prime Air drone and found that it had noise levels between 47 and 61 decibels (dB). Chainsaws produce 125 dB of sound while heavy equipment produce between 95 and 110 dB, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

College Station wants Amazon to BUZZ OFF from the city

According to CNBC, Prime Air is part of the e-commerce giant's efforts to find a quicker, more cost-effective solution for the so-called "last mile" – the part of the delivery that gets the package from the warehouse to the customer's doorstep. Supporters say drone delivery can potentially offset the cost of maintaining a fleet of delivery drivers while cutting down on the need for gas-guzzling delivery vans.

Nichols' July letter followed Amazon's petition to the FAA asking that it be allowed to increase daily deliveries from the current 200 to 469. It is also asking for permission to operate drones between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. instead of being limited to daylight hours.

Moreover, Amazon is also asking the FAA to allow an expansion of its delivery area to up to 174 square miles (sq. mi.) surrounding its drone port. Currently, Amazon Prime Air drones can only deliver within a radius of 44 sq. mi. around its College Station facility.

In May, the FAA permitted Amazon to fly its delivery drones over longer distances and without staffers on the ground observing each flight. Amazon heralded the announcement and said it "lays the foundation" for the service to reach new markets.

But given the complaints, the e-commerce giant founded by Jeff Bezos said last month it would move its drone facility farther away from neighborhoods moving forward. Per a recording obtained by CNBC, Prime Air's Head of Regulatory Affairs and Strategy Matt McCardle also mentioned that the company would not renew its lease in College Station and move elsewhere by October 2025.

Visit DroneWatchNews.com for similar stories.

Watch this report from Next News Network's Gary Franchi about home drone deliveries commencing in major U.S. states.

This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Trump’s would-be assassin reportedly flew a drone over the fairgrounds before the speech and could have dropped explosives on Trump.

Denver to deploy DRONES to respond to 911 calls.

Police in Colorado to start using DRONES to respond to 911 calls.

Drone footage shows makeshift camps built along Rio Grande by migrants waiting for Title 42 to end.

Drone strikes to murder Americans who refuse spike protein shots? All non-vaxxers now labeled BIO-TERRORISTS by the Covid-vaccinated talking heads on MSNBC.

Sources include:

CNBC.com

Brighteon.com



Take Action:
Support NewsTarget by linking to this article from your website.
Permalink to this article:
Copy
Embed article link:
Copy
Reprinting this article:
Non-commercial use is permitted with credit to NewsTarget.com (including a clickable link).
Please contact us for more information.
Free Email Alerts
Get independent news alerts on natural cures, food lab tests, cannabis medicine, science, robotics, drones, privacy and more.

NewsTarget.com © 2022 All Rights Reserved. All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. NewsTarget.com is not responsible for content written by contributing authors. The information on this site is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind. NewsTarget.com assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. Your use of this website indicates your agreement to these terms and those published on this site. All trademarks, registered trademarks and servicemarks mentioned on this site are the property of their respective owners.

This site uses cookies
News Target uses cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using this site, you agree to our privacy policy.
Learn More
Close
Get 100% real, uncensored news delivered straight to your inbox
You can unsubscribe at any time. Your email privacy is completely protected.