Residents complain of constant noise near Waymo charging station
Some Santa Monica residents are making their complaints known due to the constant noise that they say is the result of the Waymo charging station located near their homes.
By Laurie Perez, Dean Fioresi
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SANTA MONICA, California (KCAL, KCBS) — Some Santa Monica residents are making their complaints known due to the constant noise that they say is the result of the Waymo charging station located near their homes.
There’s a constantly droning hum, as well as a glare from the parking lot that houses the hundreds of vehicles stored near Euclid Street and Broadway. It opened about six months ago and has been an issue since, many say.
“It looks like the Las Vegas Strip here,” said Nancy Taylor, one of the many who is fed up with the nuisance.
On top of the lights is the noises that come from the vehicles, be it the back-up alert beeping or car alarms going off, neighbors say that sleep and relaxation is disrupted by the driverless cars charging up.
Waymo issued a statement on the situation upon request from CBS News Los Angeles.
“We strive to be good neighbors … We are in ongoing conversation with the City’s Department of Transportation and are actively working with the agency as we explore and implement mitigations that address neighbors’ concern,” the statement said, in part.
City officials have confirmed that they are in fact working with Waymo to address the complaints about the car noise, workers conversing too loudly and the constant vacuuming of the cars.
In the weeks since complaints began to file in, Waymo says that they have limited work hours at the site, purchased quieter equipment and planted trees to try and buffer the sound and light escaping from the lot.
“I think they’re trying, but not fast enough,” Taylor said. “It’s hard for me to imagine you could have a driverless car and not be able to fix this element of it.”
Neighbors have suggested an array of solutions, including lowering or dismantling the back-up sound and the humming sound inside of the charging lots. City and Waymo leaders say it’s more complicated as federal regulations require that EVs beep to alert pedestrians and bicyclists of their presence.
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