People living in Chicago's Lakeview East neighborhood have been at the center of a delivery pilot program, and most of them aren't happy with the robots or in favor of expanding their footprint.
People living in Chicago 's Lakeview East neighborhood have been at the center of a delivery pilot program, and most of them aren't happy with the robots or in favor of expanding their footprint.At the height of the weekday lunch rush, you can see delivery robots crisscrossing the streets in the North Side neighborhood.
Some residents have welcomed them to the neighborhood as part of an ongoing city pilot program. Carlotta Trevino is one of them.'They have more brains than humans,' she said. 'They stop for you, they move out of the way, they cross with the cross light.'But she may be in the minority. First Ward Ald. Daniel La Spata recently asked for feedback on whether the community would like to see the pilot program expand. He got more than 750 response, the overwhelming majority of which – nearly 84% in fact – said they 'strongly disagreed' with sharing the sidewalks with these robots. That number grew to 91% when totaling responses he received from outside the 1st Ward. 'We hear numbers like what Alderman La Spata is reporting, and it's just further illustrative of what we are hearing and have been hearing of the last few months,' said Josh Robertson, organizer of the NoSidewalkBots.org petition.Robertson started his petition to pause the pilot program with about 3,500 signatures across more than 55 city zip codes. 'The fact that they're taking steps to listen to their constituents shows that this is on the radar, and Chicago voices are being heard,' he said. Employees at one restaurant, who declined being interviewed on camera, did say about 80% of their daily business is takeout or delivery. But they don't control how orders go out; the delivery services assign a human driver or a robot. Given the results of the 1st Ward survey, robot delivery company Coco said they will 'continue to operate within our current footprint.'The company outside Trevino's home, Serve Robotics, said they're currently operating 50 robots around Chicago.'The only thing that's bad about them is it's taking somebody's job,' Trevino said.The delivery robot pilot program is currently scheduled to run until May 2027. They cannot go past that day without approval from the Chicago City Council.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Ceremony honoring Chicago's DODO chapter of Tuskegee Airmen held at Aviation Institute of Maintenance campusAviation Institute of Maintenance students learned about the contributions of the Tuskegee Airmen, specifically Chicago's DODO chapter.
Read more »
Historic Calhoun House in East Austin a sign of 'resiliency' and 'Black excellence'Built during a period of segregation in Austin, the Calhoun House still stands as a pillar of East Austin and house of history in Austin. The city honored that
Read more »
Chicago man sentenced to 28 years in federal prison for sex trafficking, kidnappingProsecutors said that Dennis Williams, 33, trafficked five victims out of his Chicago home and in motels in Lansing in 2022 and 2023.
Read more »
Man Killed in Carjacking in LakeviewA 22-year-old man was fatally shot during a carjacking in Lakeview, Chicago. Two armed suspects approached the parked vehicle, demanded it, and shot the victim. The suspects fled, and police are investigating the incident. Another deadly shooting occurred shortly after, but it's unknown if the two are connected.
Read more »
Beloved East Coast organic grocery store opening in 2 Chicago suburbsMOM's Organic Market is set to open stores in Naperville and Mount Prospect, according to a release.
Read more »
ABC7 Chicago presents 2026 Republican US Senate primary forumABC7 Chicago, the League of Women Voters of Illinois and Chicago and Univision Chicago presented live and without commercials the 2026 Republican U.S. Senate Primary Forum at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11.
Read more »