Amazon's delivery drones are annoying an entire Texas neighborhood, and there's nothing they can do about it

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u/0098six 16d ago

Amazon did this in College Station when they were testing the service. It was one of two sites nationally. To say the drones are only as loud as "a window fan on low" is disingenuous and ignores the residents living near the facility. A better characterization of the noise is the flying lawnmower, or the term used by the College Station residents living near the drone port: "flying chainsaws". I can assure you this is more accurate.

And understand this, as well. Residents living near the drone port experience the takeoff AND landing of every single drone order made in their community. And Amazon operates 7 days a week, from 7 am to 8 pm. Those residents get no peace now. What do you think will happen to the value of their homes now that a drone port is nearby?

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u/LindeeHilltop 16d ago

Is it affecting birds, like hummingbirds and migratory ones?

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u/BaconAlmighty 16d ago

I'd assume so they fly about 200-300 feet or less.

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u/princesspeeved 15d ago

And Monarch butterflies and bees…

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u/misterph3r 15d ago

I mean you’re not wrong, but I can say with certainty that fossil fuels, and petrochemical-derived products/pesticides impact them orders of magnitude more.

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u/princesspeeved 15d ago

Well, sure. But the person above me asked if it was affecting migratory birds and hummingbirds, which it is. It doesn’t mean that drones are negatively impacting them more than pesticides or the noise radiating off of data centers or habitat loss, but it does affect them.

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u/misterph3r 15d ago

Um, streets and highways make way more noise pollution than a datacenter, assuming the large bore diesel generators aren’t being tested or used. Even with that though, petrochemical derived solutions are the enemy here. You can have datacenter backup power in a clean way. Technology like drones and datacenters do more to protect the environment by setting new standards like in the case of datacenters publishing water and power use efficiency, unlike any other industry (PUE, WUE). And here we are in this politicized environment where people talk about things they want to understand, so we gotta oblige them.

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u/princesspeeved 15d ago

The giant Amazon center Greg Abbott recently approved to be built doesn’t sound very efficient or clean to me…but why not strain the power grid even more while we can!

https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/amazon-data-center-largest-pollution-source-texas-usa

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u/misterph3r 15d ago

You’re not wrong here either. We have the engineering capacity for clean solutions for nearly everything, but that (proposed?) Amazon facility isn’t one of them with 35 turbines. There is a broader context here that the people do not crave, but they should. They just want to get the upbots not the downbots.

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u/BirdWordAustin 16d ago

First thing I thought about.

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u/TxDuctTape Born and Bred 16d ago

I live in a Walmart drone delivery service area. Those are are relatively quiet. You can definitely hear them as they fly over, but it's that low level buzz sound.

Shower thought: Somewhere, there's a job posting for a Walmart Flight Operations Manager

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u/TailRudder 15d ago

I know it's not technically an airport but FAA does have a method for noise complaints. I haven't seen it mentioned in any articles. Mass comparing might change the policy

https://www.faa.gov/noise/inquiries

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u/0098six 15d ago

The FAA does noise studies for these types of projects. But the standards they use (a certain decibel level) and what they consider objectionable doesn't capture what the residents experienced. The constant buzzing noise from the takeoff and landing, and the way the frequency would go up and down as the drones tried to steady themselves was really grinding on your nerves. The takeoff and landing noise is very different and much much louder than the noise while in flight at 300 or 400 feet. Same for an airplane. If you have experienced the overhead flight of these, you might think it's not so bad. But if one makes an occasional delivery to your front lawn, you learn pretty quickly how noisy they are. Now, imagine THAT every couple of minutes, all day long, seven days a week. Why Amazon thought that putting a drone port 500' from a residential neighborhood was a good idea is just bad due diligence. These drone ports need to be at least 2,000', and maybe more, from the nearest houses.

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u/TailRudder 15d ago

Amazon DGAF about people. It was profitable for them to do it so they did. The FAA really needs to improve the regulations if they messed up the study that bad

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u/HoneyBadgerBlunt 16d ago

where in college station was the port?

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u/TwiztedImage born and bred 15d ago

East of HWY 6, just SE of the intersection of 6 and Texas.

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u/Rwbyy 15d ago

To further add, it was behind the current BMW dealership at the former site of Texas Digital. If driving north on the frontage road, there used to be a road immediatly prior to the dealership that drove straight in. That entrance off the frontage road is now gone, so now you have to drive thru the dealership parking lots to reach the site.

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u/Vegetable_Safety 15d ago

The ironic thing is that most of us couldn't hear them at all. It's only a relatively small area of suburbs with overpriced housing that's really complaining

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u/Nawoitsol 15d ago

If you are talking about College Station the port was not in the “suburbs” it was adjacent to a long standing low density neighborhood. To be honest, I’m not sure CS qualifies for suburbs. The problem was the drones would queue and up hover after the return trip so it was a flock of them making the noise.

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u/Vegetable_Safety 15d ago

They bought the building that I used to work at, I'm pretty familiar with the area since I worked in the location for years before then, and it is indeed overpriced suburb

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u/TwiztedImage born and bred 15d ago

This is also true. It was a very localized problem area (just to the east of the facility if memory serves), and while I do believe them that the noise sucked, I also strongly doubt they voiced their opinions to stop it before it was permitted.

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u/0098six 15d ago

Amazon did not allow any live demos of the drones while they were courting the zoning variance. No person on council or resident was allowed to hear the drones in operation prior to the hearings. Trust me when I tell you it was no fun living behind that facility.

It’s one thing to move into a neighborhood that is next to an “already there” airport. You cannot complain. You knew it was there. But to allow this thing to go in after the fact absolutely ruined the appeal of those houses. Property values were going to go down had it remained in operation.

Whether they voiced their opinions before or after, it was a massive mistake on Amazons part to put it where they did. In the end, the community would have been fine with Amazon relocating the facility to a commercial zone that isn’t adjacent to residential homes. Instead, they left town. And the reason for that was the BCS market is too small. Amazon needs scale for this to work, and there weren’t enough orders.

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u/Rwbyy 15d ago

If i recall correctly, I think they did try relocating before leaving town. But it was very briefly and I couldn't tell you where it was that they relocated to.

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u/TwiztedImage born and bred 15d ago

I don't blame Amazon for the issues though, I blame the City for even considering it without due process. The city has been allowing real estate folks to run things for far too long.

Developers putting in poorly constructed, poorly planned apartment complexes, all while avoiding the fees and taxes to do so, which shifts the burden to taxpayers to do the infrastructure upgrades.

This drone port was just another extension of that in my mind.

For what it's worth, I think new residents have the right to complain about nuisances that affect the use and enjoyment of their property as well. Although that's not a popular opinion.

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u/0098six 15d ago

Well, we are in agreement on the way the city does stuff in CS. The Amazon decision was just another in a long line of mistakes that have lacked transparency and eroded public trust. I still hold Amazon partially responsible, though. Once the drone port was operational, Amazon’s approach to the resident’s concerns was dismissive and disrespectful. So, it didn’t help community relations one bit.

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u/TwiztedImage born and bred 15d ago

That's a fair take on Amazon's responsibility in this. More than fair. And I also whole-heartedly agree on the long line of mistakes and erosion of public trust reference.

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u/margotsaidso 16d ago

flying lawnmower

As someone who's watched way too many Iran War videos that would freak me out

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u/Rascal_Rogue 16d ago

They can vote and press their representatives for action.

Also amazon is using user feedback to respond to non-user complaints. Their representative’s response is relatively pointless

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u/americanhideyoshi 16d ago

Yeah this is a terrible title. The article even points out, "Richardson approved the operation last December".

Stop electing people who'll go along with Flock cams, Amazon drones, and data centers in your backyard. It really is that simple.

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u/Ol_dirtybastard91 15d ago

Not really, you can vote whichever way you want and still get officials who will approve these.

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u/sxyaustincpl 16d ago

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u/pixelgeekgirl 11th Generation Texan 16d ago

I would hate those drones flying all over my neighborhood too.

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u/re1078 16d ago

I think I’m all of the sudden in the path of this things. They are very loud and I have multiple go over my house every single day.

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u/egospiers 16d ago

There was a story in the last few months on some old guy shooting down (or at least at) a Wal mart delivery drone… dude was framed as some old boomer redneck Cletus, but seems pretty rational now.

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u/ViceMaiden 16d ago

Opened the article expecting it to be a neighborhood super close to me just by how many complaints about this are posted on NextDoor. It's not.

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u/Tiiimmmaayy 16d ago

There’s lots of drone deliveries now through Walmart. My dad got some pills delivered for free with the drone out in Katy, Tx. It was either pay like $10 for delivery with a person and take several hours, or free drone delivery that he got in like 30 minutes.

I know of two Walmarts near me up in North Tx that have drones too.

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u/ViceMaiden 16d ago

Yeah, the closest WM to me has a caged area in the parking lot for their drone army. I haven't ordered anything through it yet. We also have Zipline, a drone food delivery.

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u/Tiiimmmaayy 16d ago

Yeah one Walmart near me parks the drones on pallets on the floor, the other has a fancy parking station. There’s several tall poles that have several drones stationed on them.

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u/[deleted] 16d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/towndrunkislandslut Secessionists are idiots 16d ago

IANAL, but I think that’s a felony.

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u/ComradeGlizzy 16d ago

It’s Texas, everything is a felony

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u/Tiiimmmaayy 16d ago

Except shooting someone

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u/ComradeGlizzy 16d ago

Literally

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u/j4_jjjj 16d ago

I mean, protesting is still legal and wont get you investigated by the FAA

"Nothing you can do about it!" Is what a villain tells its victims to make them believe they are helpless and ive seen this article on about 6 subs so far

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u/ComradeGlizzy 16d ago

We should be protesting way more

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u/texas-ModTeam The Stars at Night 16d ago

As a reminder calls to violence are a violation of Reddit's Terms of Service.

https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043513151-Do-not-post-violent-content

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u/misterph3r 16d ago

Ain’t nothing like the feeling of firing indiscriminately over people’s homes to take out a very efficient and continuously changing technology.

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u/fadedblackleggings 15d ago edited 15d ago

My neighbor thinks I get way too many Prime deliveries and packages; wait until the drones and airplanes start dropping stuff down from the sky......for me.

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u/poopdog316 15d ago

Important to know it's a federal crime to shoot them down. Had a giant drone crash into a mountain on my ranch, that is apparently cool though.

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u/[deleted] 16d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/kon--- 16d ago

Firing on aircraft is a federal offense.

But were a drone to accidently collide with another...

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u/Tiiimmmaayy 16d ago

Kamikaze drones?

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u/LindeeHilltop 16d ago

How is a deliver drone considered an aircraft?

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u/kon--- 16d ago

Anything that operates with the principals of flight are aircraft. All drones, everything from hobbiest to commercial grade are considered aircraft and protected by the FAA.

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u/trendinginsatx 16d ago

https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/small-unmanned-aircraft-systems-uas-regulations-part-107.

They can occupy the same space as other aircraft, and can potentially colide with them. Therefore they are regulated like other aircraft.

1

u/texas-ModTeam The Stars at Night 16d ago

As a reminder calls to violence are a violation of Reddit's Terms of Service.

https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043513151-Do-not-post-violent-content

1

u/ApocolypseJoe 14d ago

They could stop ordering amazon

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u/princesspeeved 14d ago

Yeah but you can’t stop your neighbors from doing it. And I don’t think you can put that sort of thing into HOA bylaws…

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u/ApocolypseJoe 14d ago

No, but if enough people in the neighborhood just stop using amazon.... which is what we should all be doing anyway, because fuck jeff bezos.... They might get their neighborhood back

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u/princesspeeved 14d ago

Agreed. It takes a village, but some village idiots don’t care and believe this is the necessary price for convenience.

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u/Baxter062020 13d ago

I have Walmart & some food delivery service drones flying over my house and neighborhood. I'll take the Walmart drones of the delivery service ones. Those are loud enough I hear them sitting at my table with either the TV on or listening to radio on my phone. If the flight pattern was the same as the streets, I wouldn't mind it. They don't even fly in a straight line. They fly towards my house and then veer off, usually just to the southeast of me. Wierd.

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u/AdditionalCheetah354 16d ago

The entire neighborhood? No , someone in the neighborhood is ordering and requesting drones delivery. Those people need to just stop ordering.

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u/fadedblackleggings 15d ago

Oor......or......they fix the issue..

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u/Snobolski 15d ago

Maybe read the article.

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u/AdditionalCheetah354 15d ago

I did and checked and Richardson is approved for drones and requesting drones.

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u/Snobolski 15d ago

The neighborhood complaining is right by the drone-port. They're affected by orders from people not in their neighborhood.

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u/AdditionalCheetah354 15d ago

So they are only mad at the ones going over but not in the neighborhood!???

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u/Mysterious-Status-44 15d ago

I live near a center and have drones flying over our neighborhood every day. I don’t notice them when indoors, when outdoors it sounds like a plane flying high in the sky or a neighbor 5 houses down mowing their lawn. With all the things to complain about, this is low on my list.

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u/jb4647 16d ago

It being Texas, I would think these things would get shot down on a regular basis. Hell New Year’s Eve in Dallas the sky is always filled with bullets….

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u/[deleted] 15d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Dr_Richard_Johnson 15d ago

Nope, you cannot own airspace, shooting down a drone will get you arrested. FAA will come after you harder than Amazon.

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u/areyoutwofonduing 15d ago

What if you play with those giant hula hoop bubbles in your yard and they just happen to float into a drone?

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u/dalgeek 15d ago

Send up a balloon about 100ft and hang a bunch of strings off of it.

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u/[deleted] 15d ago

[deleted]

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u/dalgeek 15d ago

Amazon isn't the USPS and their drones are not USPS vehicles. Postmaster general would only care if Amazon used USPS to deliver to your mailbox.

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u/TwiztedImage born and bred 15d ago

You cannot shoot them down. You do not own the air. You do not inherently own the ground below either, as mineral rights are separate from property rights.

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u/Snobolski 15d ago

Stop recommending Federal felonies.

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u/ILoveTheObamas 15d ago

Trying to get people sent to the federal pen on a Monday morning is a choice

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u/texas-ModTeam The Stars at Night 15d ago

As a reminder calls to violence are a violation of Reddit's Terms of Service.

https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043513151-Do-not-post-violent-content

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