ATLANTA — Waymo’s self-driving cars can be seen all over Atlanta streets, giving rideshare trips through Uber.
But what happens when they’re empty?
In one northwest Atlanta neighborhood, the residents say dozens of Waymo cars end up circling their cul-de-sac.
Channel 2’s Steve Gehlbach went to one street, where neighbors say they want the Waymos to stop.
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“It’s almost every little cul-de-sac in our area, so I think it’s a problem,” one neighbor, on Battleview Drive, told Gehlbach.
On a dead end street, Waymo after Waymo after Waymo drive on, usually early in the morning.
“I think yesterday morning, we had 50 cars that came through between 6 and 7,” a neighbor told Channel 2 Action News.
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Residents on Battleview Drive said they started seeing the autonomous, driverless cars about two months ago, but the groups and large numbers of Waymos just circling in and out only started the last couple of weeks.
The neighbors shared videos of the cars with Channel 2 Action News.
When one resident put a Step2Kid sign up in the street, it blocked all of the Waymos from entering the cul-de-sac, but how that played out was a surprise for those living there.
“We had, at one point, eight Waymos that were stuck trying to figure out how to turn around,” the neighbor said.
The Waymos are empty and not picking up anyone, and parents are worried, saying it’s not just excessive, but dangerous.
“We’re families, we have small animals and pets, got kids getting on the bus in the morning and it just doesn’t feel safe to have that traffic,” one neighbor said.
The residents said they’d reached out ot Waymo and have not gotten a response, so they also contacted their city council member, representatives and the Georgia Department of Transportation.
The neighbors said they don’t know what to do.
“We would like to just see them stay on main traffic roads,” one neighbor said. “I don’t think there’s any reason for them to be on small residential cul-de-sacs if they’re not picking up somebody.”
Channel 2 Action News only saw one Waymo circling the area around mid-morning, and someone was in the driver’s seat.
Waymo responded to Gehlbach with the following statement:
“At Waymo, we are committed to being good neighbors. We take community feedback seriously and have already addressed this routing behavior. With over 500,000 weekly trips across the country, our service is proven to significantly reduce traffic injuries and improve road safety. We value our relationship with Atlanta residents and remain focused on providing a seamless, respectful, and safe experience for riders and residents alike.”
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