Robotic Delivery Device Updates Provided at PPCC Meeting

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

During the June 10 virtual Pacific Palisades Community Council meeting, CD 11 Transportation Policy Director Eric Bruins returned to provide updates on proposed citywide regulation of robotic delivery devices.

Bruins first spoke to board members and attendees on the topic in late March, returning now because a report from Los Angeles Department of Transportation recommending certain rules and regulations has now been heard by the transportation and public works committees, and will soon head to the full City Council.

“The goal is to put a program into place before the end of the month,” Bruins explained. “The reason council is moving with some urgency is that these devices are currently legal right now because there is a gap in state law that allows them to operate on the public right-of-way, absent a city program to regulate them.”

Councilmember Bob Blumenfield first introduced a motion in October 2020 that was seconded by Councilmember Mike Bonin requesting that the Department of Transportation and Bureau of Street Services, with the assistance of the city attorney, “be instructed to develop a regulatory framework for personal delivery devices that operate in the city’s public right-of-way.”

Bruins started with an overview of what the proposed policy covers, including mandatory compliance with insurance data indemnification requirements to protect the public interest, requirements that the devices operate primarily on sidewalks and crosswalks, and not interfering with maintenance of the path of travel for persons with disabilities.

“These devices basically have to yield to everybody else who is moving on the sidewalk, and they’re only allowed in the roadway, either in a crosswalk or on streets, where there are no sidewalks,” Bruins explained.

Other regulations include being prohibited from parking on the sidewalk and from transporting waste or other hazardous materials. If a device becomes inoperable, there is a removal requirement within two hours.

“One of the things that we did in response to comments from you all was we mandated that before a company can even apply to the city for a permit, they have to talk to the local community council or neighborhood council about deployment,” Bruins said, “because we really want to require that there be an open dialogue with you all to make sure that they’re able to take into account your concerns and their operational plans.”

Each company that wishes to deploy robotic delivery devices will select a handful of areas they want to be in, up to six neighborhoods total and 75 devices in that given neighborhood.

“We wanted to put a ceiling early on to make sure that we’re not going to see the streets flooded with these devices in any particular place because we want to understand how these work before scaling up,” Bruins added.

He estimated that a popular restaurant may want four or five devices, meaning that between 10 and 15 restaurants in a given community would be part of the pilot program. The top speed will be about 5 mph on sidewalks and 15 mph in the street.

Companies will be hiring and training pilots who will be maneuvering the devices. Bruins said it is a high priority to ensure the pilots are employees and not gig workers.

Half of a company’s devices need to be placed in disadvantaged neighborhoods to reach their maximum allotment, companies will be required to pay fees to cover the cost of regulation, and limits will be placed on what can be advertised on the devices.

“They’re integrated with 311, like the scooter program,” Bruins explained. “If you see a device that isn’t following the rules, you’re able to pull out your phone, take a picture, send it through the 311 app and report it as a mobility device problem.”

He then took questions from PPCC board members, including Secretary Chris Spitz, who asked why there is not an option for communities to opt in or out.

“In the city, we, generally speaking with these technology programs—and really all city services—we don’t just say parts of the city can decide to opt out of a city program,” he explained. “We try to make sure the city programs are delivering services to a community in a way that is tailored to that community’s needs and priorities, and that’s what we’re trying to do in this specific location as well.”

PPCC Organization Representative Eric Dugdale expressed concerns about Palisadians being asked to give up their sidewalks to make room for the devices.

“If you multiply the number of restaurants times the number of robots and plunk them down in the Palisades, we won’t have sidewalks anymore,” he said. “Those will just be delivery paths for robots.”

At-large Representative Alan Goldsmith expressed a similar sentiment, citing concerns for cyclists who already are under “tremendous stress from irresponsible drivers and other conditions,” but that he ultimately is not opposed to the program.

Bruins explained that the devices would focus on deliveries within a one- to two-mile range of the restaurant, adding that they would likely not be driving longer distances into the hillsides.

Any company that wishes to deploy robotic delivery devices in Pacific Palisades will be required to meet with PPCC beforehand to address community concerns.