WESTBOROUGH, Mass.- Three Massachusetts legislators are calling on Amazon to pause plans for a commercial drone delivery service in Westborough until the company addresses concerns raised by residents about noise, privacy, safety and other potential impacts.
Sen. Michael Moore, Rep. Hannah Kane, and Rep. Kate Donaghue, sent a letter to Amazon this week following a September 23 community meeting attended by hundreds of residents.
The legislators said residents raised concerns about the proposed service’s noise, frequency of flights, flight paths, operating hours, privacy, safety, cybersecurity and environmental impacts.
The proposed Amazon Prime Air service would operate from the company’s existing 200,000-square-foot Otis Street fulfillment center in Westborough. Amazon says drones would deliver packages weighing less than 5 pounds to Westborough and 15 surrounding communities, with deliveries potentially arriving in as little as 30 minutes.
Amazon has said it hopes eventually to make up to 1,000 deliveries per day to addresses within a 7.5-mile radius of the fulfillment center.
In their letter, the legislators asked Amazon to pause implementation while the company provides additional information and addresses residents’ concerns. They said questions remain about operating hours, flight paths, service range and the number of drone flights per day.
“It is unfair to expect the community to fairly evaluate a proposal when key details remain undetermined,” Moore, Kane and Donaghue wrote.
Moore said residents have questions about how the drones would operate safely, quietly and while respecting privacy.
“There is a distinct difference between operating delivery trucks on our neighborhood streets and flying dozens of camera-equipped drones in the skies above our homes,” Moore said.
Kane said residents in Westborough and Shrewsbury have raised concerns about privacy and noise, as well as safety and environmental issues.
“People living in communities within Amazon’s range need to be able to trust that their questions will be answered, and I urge Amazon to listen to residents and address these issues before moving forward,” Kane said.
Donaghue said Westborough residents have expressed concerns about noise, privacy and safety, along with potential environmental effects.
“Many residents have expressed serious concerns regarding the environmental impact of drones on wildlife, especially birds,” Donaghue said.
Amazon Prime Air currently operates in 13 cities across 10 states, according to the letter. The company has outlined an expansion plan that would bring drone delivery to more than 500 communities by the end of the year.
Prime Air drones typically fly at speeds of up to 74 miles per hour and cruise between 205 and 370 feet above the ground before descending to 13 feet to deliver packages. Amazon says the drones are loudest during takeoff and landing, while sound at cruising altitude is comparable outdoors to an electric toothbrush held at arm’s length.
The drones are designed to operate in wind, rain and snow and include redundant propellers intended to keep them airborne if one fails. Cameras are used for navigation and collision avoidance. Amazon says image data is encrypted and that it does not sell or commercially collect data from its flights.
The legislators’ letter also cites videos showing Prime Air drones dropping a package into a pool and crashing into a residential apartment building, along with news reports from Texas and Nebraska concerning resident complaints about drone noise.
Amazon must also receive local approval before beginning operations in Westborough. The Westborough Planning Board began considering the proposal at a Sept. 15 meeting, with further discussion scheduled for Oct. 6.
The legislators said Amazon’s outreach to government officials and residents has provided information about Prime Air but has also left questions about the intended scope of the operation.
They also argued that federal authorization would not establish community support for the proposal.
“A federal permit does not reflect the community’s trust and support,” the letter states.
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