Glendale residents are asking Walmart to stop its drone delivery service

GLENDALE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — People in a quiet neighborhood off 59th Avenue and Bell Road got a rude awakening when they say Walmart began testing its large delivery drones.

Residents say it sounded like a helicopter flying right over their homes. “It sounds like a hornet’s nest that’s been kicked up,” said Mike Baxter, who has lived in the neighborhood for five years.

The drones, which span several feet in diameter, can deliver goods weighing ten pounds in 30 minutes. “I̵[ads1]7;m not against drones, but do it somewhere else. It’s not a necessary service here,” Baxter said. Baxter says he moved here for privacy and quiet. Now he says both of those things are being violated.

Autumn Johnson, another homeowner, says the noise is alarming, but more concerning is the lack of regulations and laws for neighborhood delivery drones. “I really think before this comes along, some kind of pervasive technology, there needs to be parameters in place to protect those kinds of concerns,” Johnson said.

Arizona’s family contacted Walmart about their concerns and received the following statement.

Their drone partner, Drone Up, also sent this statement:

Residents are also concerned about safety concerns. If one of the drones were to fail, it could injure someone or damage property.

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