{"id":433471,"date":"2025-12-08T14:58:19","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T14:58:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/433471\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T14:58:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T14:58:19","slug":"delivery-robots-take-over-chicago-sidewalks-sparking-debate-and-a-petition-to-hit-pause","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/433471\/","title":{"rendered":"Delivery Robots Take Over Chicago Sidewalks, Sparking Debate And A Petition To Hit ‘Pause’"},"content":{"rendered":"

LAKEVIEW \u2014 The robot revolution is here \u2014 on North Side sidewalks, at least.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With names like Stacey, Quincy and Rajesh, the boxy food delivery robots are regularly zooming down side streets to deliver Shake Shack or Taco Bell to eager patrons in Lakeview, Lincoln Park and Uptown, among other neighborhoods. They\u2019re adorable to some, a safety hazard to others and impossible to ignore for most.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The buzzing bots are causing a stir in person and online<\/a>. In neighborhood Facebook groups, they\u2019ve found fervent support and fierce opposition, while a passionate contingent of neighbors have banded together to oust them from the city altogether.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Josh Robertson is leading that charge. The Lincoln Park resident has launched a petition<\/a> calling for the city to hit pause on the robots, arguing, \u201cChicago sidewalks are for people, not delivery robots.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The petition asks the city\u2019s transportation and business departments to \u201crelease safety & ADA findings, evaluate that data and local job impacts in a public hearing, and set clear rules\u201d for the robots. As of Dec. 2, more than 1,500 people have signed the petition, 350 of whom included an \u201cincident report\u201d describing their interactions with the robots. <\/p>\n

Robertson said he first noticed the robots in his neighborhood earlier this year and thought they were \u201ckind of neat \u2026 . It felt futuristic.\u201d<\/p>\n

That changed when he went for a walk with his young children and a robot approached on the sidewalk, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a vehicle in the pedestrian path space that\u2019s meant for people, and yet we ended up stepping aside, and something about that felt a little off,\u201d Robertson said. \u201cI began to wonder, what are our sidewalks going to be like if these programs are successful from the company\u2019s point of view, and they continue to scale, and there are dozens and dozens of them on our sidewalks, even on quiet residential sidewalks?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"People walk around a Serve Delivery Robot as it rides along Damen Avenue in Bucktown on Dec. 6, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a question many Chicagoans \u2014 including some alderpeople \u2014 are asking. The offices of Alds. Angela Clay<\/a> (46th) and Bennett Lawson<\/a> (44th) have sent out surveys to neighbors in their respective wards asking them to describe their experiences and concerns with the bots and whether they support or oppose their presence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the part that I wish would have happened prior to us implementing this,\u201d said Gaby Rodriguez, of Uptown. \u201cI at least want some control over my sidewalk. I can\u2019t control anything else in this environment, but I can certainly have a voice in what we allow on our sidewalks.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a statement, Lawson said his office launched the survey after seeing more robots in Lakeview. The feedback \u201cwill help inform our conversations with city departments, operators and others about the future use of delivery robots in our neighborhood and around the city,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The delivery robot pilot program launched in Chicago in 2022<\/a> under then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and a few companies now operate app-based robots in the city. Coco rolled out last year in the 27th and 34 wards, which include parts of the Loop, Near North Side, West Loop, Near West Side, West Town and West Humboldt Park. The company recently partnered with burger chain Shake Shack.<\/p>\n

Serve Robotics, used by UberEats and other food delivery apps, expanded to Chicago in late September. Serve rolled out in partnership with more than 100 restaurants in 14 Chicago neighborhoods, including East Garfield Park, Logan Square and Belmont Cragin.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout half of all food deliveries globally are shorter than 2 and a half miles, which basically means that all of our cities are filled with burrito taxis,\u201d said Viggy Ram, Serve\u2019s vice president of policy. \u201cThis is really an effort to make short-distance delivery safer, more sustainable and reduce congestion overall.\u201d<\/p>\n

Serve is aware of the Chicago petition and welcomes the feedback, good and bad, in hopes the company can serve the city as best as it can, Ram said. The company\u2019s goal is to expand into more neighborhoods, he said.<\/p>\n

Each bot has a \u201ccontact us\u201d label for those who want to offer feedback, Ram said.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnlike a distracted driver, they are able to look in all four directions at the same time and make the smartest, safest decision possible,\u201d Ram said. \u201cWe see this as a much safer option for Chicago\u2019s residents and for pedestrians.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a written statement, a representative for Coco said the company \u201ctakes safety and community partnership as our top priorities. We have been operating in Chicago for a year with strong community support. We maintain strict protocols for sidewalk safety, ADA compliance and incident response.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"A fleet of Serve Delivery Robot robots are deployed in the 2500 block of North Lincoln Avenue in Lincoln Park on Nov. 24, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

Some residents have come to the defense of the delivery robots, and even taken a liking to them. One Lakeview neighbor noted a Serve bot gave her \u201ca friendly beep.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are starting to know who their are fans,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez thinks that\u2019s intentional, the cutesy design and human-sounding names of the robots distract from what he said are the real issues of accessibility and functionality, particularly for neighbors with disabilities.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez argues that the companies have parachuted into Chicago communities without an understanding of, or a desire to learn, neighborhoods\u2019 specific needs, and he worries that while residents currently have the option to use the delivery bot services, they may not have a choice in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat other corporations are we going to allow on our sidewalks? That\u2019s the last place that was meant to be human-centric, right?\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to lose that access and give open road for corporations to now start using our sidewalks, which they haven\u2019t in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"A Serve Delivery Robot rides along Damen Avenue in Bucktown on Dec. 6, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

Rodriguez said he recently called Clay\u2019s office to vent his concerns, and the alderwoman seemed unaware of the quantity and reach of the delivery robots.<\/p>\n

Bethel Kissell, Clay\u2019s chief of staff, confirmed her office has fielded many concerns from neighbors, though it\u2019s too early to make any conclusions or recommendations based on the survey results, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re still getting feedback from constituents, as well as the companies that are operating these devices. It\u2019s ongoing, so at this point it\u2019s a little premature to form any opinions,\u201d Kissell said.<\/p>\n

Robertson shares Rodriguez\u2019s concerns, pointing to incident reports of the robots pushing neighbors off the sidewalks onto busy streets, colliding with bicyclists and even deterring emergency vehicles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Becca Girsch, executive director of the Lakeview\/Roscoe Village Chamber of Commerce, said the organization hasn\u2019t spoken directly with Coco or Serve Robotics but has taken note of the polarizing reaction in recent weeks as Robertson\u2019s petition continues to garner signatures.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard not to pay attention,\u201d Girsch said. \u201cIt seems like the winds are against the robots. I think right now we\u2019re hearing mostly the negative. So if that\u2019s the trend, then I\u2019m not sure how long this pilot program will sustain itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robertson said he\u2019s hopeful for a future where, even if the delivery bots continue to be used in the city, they\u2019re better implemented into residents\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that they\u2019re responding to this quickly tells me that Chicagoans\u2019 voices are beginning to be heard on this issue,\u201d Robertson said.\u00a0\u201cThese are suddenly such a visible and such a big part of our public lives that we need to make sure that the right level of attention and the right discussions are happening, to weigh the pros and the cons and again, to ultimately ask, what kind of neighborhoods do we want to build?\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAKEVIEW \u2014 The robot revolution is here \u2014 on North Side sidewalks, at least.\u00a0 With names like Stacey,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":433472,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[960,5386,1818],"class_list":{"0":"post-433471","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago","8":"tag-chicago","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-illinois"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115684542786160044","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=433471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433471\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/433472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=433471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=433471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=433471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}