Anybody know where their drone base is located? Or the alternate site mentioned in this article?

Apparently those who live close are unhappy with noise levels and are complaining to city officials.

It would suck to buy a place in a quiet neighborhood and then have that disrupted by an activity that comes in after you. Totally different if they were there first and growth encroached upon them.

I looked for it on the board but didn't see a topic. SIAP.

Quote:

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• Amazon is seeking FAA approval to expand its drone delivery service in College Station, Texas, its primary testing ground.
• The program, which has struggled to get off the ground, is now facing scrutiny from College Station residents, who are complaining about the noise levels.
• Amazon said in July that it would move its drone facility farther away from neighborhoods.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/16/amazons-drone-expansion-plans-spur-pushback-from-texas-residents.html

It's been talked about a ton on here on older threads. Probably need to search for it. The current place is off of 6 behind the BMW and Hyundai dealer. We got a drone order once just to try it out and for the novelty of it. Won't do it again. Way too loud. I thought it was way too disruptive for our quiet neighborhood. If I lived out in the country with plenty of distance between neighbors I might feel different.

Sweet Kitten Feet said:

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The current place is off of 6 behind the BMW and Hyundai dealer.

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Thank you

Yep, I have had some neighbors do it several times... I find it annoying due to noise and privacy concerns; however its their right to do it, so I never said anything.

Just one more reason to not live near others.... I certainly would hate to live near the factory/warehouse. Its the reason I was against this delivery method in the first place.

We just got surveyed for it and the guy who came out said they have new drones coming in a few weeks that'll be 40% quieter.

lawless89 said:

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We just got surveyed for it and the guy who came out said they have new drones coming in a few weeks that'll be 40% quieter.

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Where is that?

What exactly do they stock there besides toothpaste ans cookies?

LOYAL AG said:

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Interesting that this thread sits next to the one about USPS struggling to keep up and Amazon delivery times currently sitting at six days again. I appreciate Amazon looking for ways to reduce reliance on the USPS and tend to agree with Yancy. Fantastic idea but let's execute away from neighborhoods.

His idea of using Macy's is actually solid, I'm sure that store can hold A LOT of toothbrushes and cookies and the drones could come and go from the roof and be less disruptive. There are apartments nearby so that may create a similar concern, I don't know. Still it's something to consider that would not only get the drones away from those neighborhoods but also bail the city out of its ridiculous decision to buy that building in the first place.

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Is the concern about the noise at the facility or the noise being on the flight path. Macy's only solves one of those problems.

BiochemAg97 said:

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LOYAL AG said:

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Interesting that this thread sits next to the one about USPS struggling to keep up and Amazon delivery times currently sitting at six days again. I appreciate Amazon looking for ways to reduce reliance on the USPS and tend to agree with Yancy. Fantastic idea but let's execute away from neighborhoods.

His idea of using Macy's is actually solid, I'm sure that store can hold A LOT of toothbrushes and cookies and the drones could come and go from the roof and be less disruptive. There are apartments nearby so that may create a similar concern, I don't know. Still it's something to consider that would not only get the drones away from those neighborhoods but also bail the city out of its ridiculous decision to buy that building in the first place.

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Is the concern about the noise at the facility or the noise being on the flight path. Macy's only solves one of those problems.

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The linked article said it was people living close to the facility. Some references to living on the flight path but it reads like it was the squadron of drones more so than one of them.

Takeoff and return landing. Can't even hear it in flight.

If your neighbors gets deliveries, you'll hear it descending and getting to altitude.

It's comical that people think Amazon can just move into the old Macy's location and start shoving stock and drones onto the roof and launching them all over the place.

Is there even roof access from the Macy's space? If so, had the roof of that 40+ year old mall been checked to see if it can handle the weight of people and stock and drones all on there at once?

Is someone going to have to climb a ladder with the packages and the drones whenever there is a delivery needed?

Aren't those drones pretty big? It would take a pretty large roof opening to fit those drones thru. Roof openings are normally personnel sized. Not real wide.

Will we install a conveyor or something to get the packages up to the roof so people aren't having to pull them up thru the roof opening in buckets or try to carry them up and down ladders?

Slow down, people. This is not some plug and play scenario.

Plus isn't the site now in a secured area? When I drove by it, there was badged gated access? Is that FAA regulated?

I'm not trying to poo poo any idea for Macy's. The data will have to come in first - however - my gut feel is this:

That is hundreds of trips per month from that facility. Which would mean a crap ton of orders. Amazon still have to fill that thing of the most commonly ordered stuff and weight (of course) of the items ordered will be a little odd…


I'd also be worried about those constantly crossing 6. Something about those trips makes me nervous.

But let's remember - the city bought that so it wouldn't be a storage facility and now it's ok it becomes one? How does that save the mall or add to a specific "district" feel they want to create?


- I'll tell you my opinion: the city needs to partner with a willing third party. Maybe someone that was bidding on it to turn it into family fun place. The number one issue I hear about from parents (besides taxes) is this:

"We need family stuff here".

So rather than the city spending millions of dollars - let's partner with the private sector and cut a deal.

That gets feet back into the mall - more people = better economic opportunities for small businesses looking for a density area.


There is a partner out there. We just gotta find them.

Someone in Woodcreek must have contacts there.

Are you the Regan running for city council?

maroon barchetta said:

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It's comical that people think Amazon can just move into the old Macy's location and start shoving stock and drones onto the roof and launching them all over the place.

Is there even roof access from the Macy's space? If so, had the roof of that 40+ year old mall been checked to see if it can handle the weight of people and stock and drones all on there at once?

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I worked there in the 1990s when it was Foley's. There is roof access. I've gone up there many times back then. And, they used to have one of those giant satellite dishes on the roof (it might still be there). So, it can handle some weight. But, the "stairs" up to the roof are very steep and hard to maneuver in. It would have to be redesigned.

In just 7 years, Amazon has grown from having zero bricks and mortar locations, to almost 600 worldwide.

These stores range from Amazon Books to Whole Foods, which they've acquired. Amazon Go (convenience stores) and Amazon Fresh (groceries) are just a few of the unique shopping experiences offered by Amazon.

Amazon also offers customer pickup and return of merchandise at some locations. This drives considerable foot and vehicle traffic, which Post Oak Mall needs.

Amazon also powers Esports centers with performance characteristics second to none.

All of these facts conspire to offer a fantastic solution to two problems simultaneously: the city's disposition of the former Macy's and relocating the droneport away from neighborhoods.

Done right, such a solution could address even more issues, such as providing a home for the national champion Texas A&M Esports Team and an entertainment attraction for area youth; locating drone operations near a highway where ambient traffic would lessen noise impact; offering the highway corridor's airspace as a north/south egress/ingress drone route.

To artfully extricate itself from the former Macy's acquisition, city hall must think outside the box. To identify an optimal re-location for a droneport sitting just 350 feet from the nearest home now requires a proactive approach.

Both problems have a time fuse. Each year Macy's sits empty it damages the prospects of College Station businesses located there, because success of a mall is predicated on collective customer traffic. Put simply, empty anchor stores drag malls down. Each year it sits empty weighs on the taxpayers' pocketbook too, as no sales or property tax are being collected.

For my east side neighbors, having a droneport located within just hundreds of feet was never going to fly (pun intended) over the long haul. That tract would work were the pad located by Sebesta road, but it's not. We are a community predicated on neighborhood integrity. Noise pollution is a neighborhood integrity issue, plain and simple.

I'd like to see us solve all of these problems elegantly and proceed with our future. For these reasons, I strongly support an innovative agreement with Amazon to relocate to the former Macy's.

Respectfully

Yancy

There are a ton of apartments around the mall. Any concern for the noise pollution there, or is that concern restricted to upper middle class areas?

new straw said:

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There are a ton of apartments around the mall. Any concern for the noise pollution there, or is that concern restricted to upper middle class areas?

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The nearest apartment, at the intersection of Colgate and Eastmark, is almost 1,000 feet away from the Macys, whereas the nearest home on Brookwater Circle is approximately 350 feet away.

Of course the peaceful enjoyment of one's home, whether a house or an apartment, is of equal importance. Any proposed solution that doesn't look at all residents impact for a new location would be a mistake.

I'd recommend any north south deliveries first make the jog 400 feet to the east, then utilize the bypass as an air corridor so as to avoid that apartment complex, as well as the one a thousand feet to the west by utilizing the Holleman or Harvey corridor for initial egress and final ingress back to the droneport.

I've looked at it pretty close.

Respectfully,

-yancy

https://www.sportsvideo.org/2024/07/08/esports-world-cup-announces-amazon-as-its-official-ecommerce-partner-to-establish-exclusive-gaming-hub/

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/amazon-snapping-disused-shopping-malls-turning-them-fulfillment-centers-n1262914

https://www.mytotalretail.com/article/what-amazons-investment-in-brick-and-mortar-means-for-retailers/

350 feet? Try having a drone drop area for an apartment complex in your back yard?

Greedy developer and builder don't care.

MsDoubleD81 said:

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350 feet? Try having a drone drop area for an apartment complex in your back yard?

Greedy developer and builder don't care.

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That's important feedback and I appreciate hearing it. What keeps packages from being picked up by the wrong party? Inadvertently or otherwise?

As for deliveries, there's no getting around the noise. If the technology proliferates, which I believe it will, that will always be a new part of our lives- but I'd not heard the "common delivery spot" for apartment complexes perspective. Intuitively I don't think it's possible to deliver packages via drone a substantial distance from the complex. Weather, theft, etc…

That's a challenge right there. Suggestions?

Thanks again and respectfully yours-

-yancy

I was posting about houses that are being built that share a fence with the apartment drone drop. And no tree buffer.

I'd put my money on if the drone pad was near a less affluent area, there would not be a discussion.

Are you running against the guy from Lowes?

I do not think my opponent works at Lowes, no.

For transparency sake:

https://wtaw.com/filing-deadline-approaching-for-college-station-and-bryan-city-council-and-school-board-elections/