No thank you very much, Mr. Roboto!
Santa Monicans are pushing back — hard — at City Council’s decision to permit electric, remote controlled delivery vehicles to expand citywide.
“I will boycott every business that use these and clog our city sidewalks,” angry resident Laura Wilson declared in public comments displayed in the popular Facebook group Santa Monica Now.
“No way will I support a business that makes our sidewalks ugly and dangerous with these pieces of crap.”
Wilson was among dozens of citizens raising concerns about Coco, a fleet of on-demand rolling robots that began delivering snacks, booze and other household items to customers last year.
The service was briefly put on ice in October, but permitted to quietly resume again in January as part of the City’s Zero Emission Delivery Zone pilot program. The original test area stretched from Dewey Street to Wilshire Boulevard and from Lincoln Boulevard west to the ocean.
On April 27 the robots won approval to expand citywide in a 6-0-1 vote with only Council member Oscar del la Torre abstaining.
Many commenters in the Santa Monica Now forum — which is moderated by freshman City Council member Phil Brock — believe rolling pink and purple boxes are taking away jobs from humans and creating chaos for both vehicles and pedestrians.
“More junk to litter the planet, replacing jobs for real live people,” wrote resident Ann Bowman. “And they are low to the ground so at some point someone is going to fall over one, get hurt, & sue the City. The ‘machines will come’ only if we are stupid enough to let them.”
Taxpayer Pam Hentsell noted, “For those of us who live close to the sidewalk, they are very loud when they maneuver up and down 4th Street. And the swirling blue lights at night are disconcerting. I hate them.”
Activist Ann Maggio Thanawalla was quick to point out privacy issues associated with the cameras necessary to operate the vehicles that will be posted on public street poles.
Meanwhile, commenter Rebecca KZ posted cell phone video of Coco bots flipping over while trying to navigate city streets last winter.
“There will be unintended consequences,” real estate broker Kate Bransfield noted. “Our City approves without properly thinking things through.”
Brock voted in favor of permitting the citywide expansion. Commenting on a photo of Coco devices appearing to block a downtown intersection, he defended the technology.
“Coco is hiring locally and the founders are former UCLA students,” Brock wrote. “I am also very concerned about not costing jobs. Coco is hiring employees who are not commissioned, on payroll, and do not rely on tips to survive.
“Each robot requires a driver to navigate our streets and sidewalks in order to get people’s food orders to them, safely. Coco has now finished over 10,000 deliveries and traveled 15,000 total miles.
“Restaurants love them and more SM establishments are using them. That will mean fewer cars on the road over time and that will result in less pollution. A few have tipped over, often trying to back away from people who want ‘selfies’ with them but overall, a good safety record.
“We will keep tabs on them during this expanded pilot program and encourage anyone who has a problem with them to report it asap.”
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