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Amazon Installs Lockers on a Chicago Park’s Sidewalk
- underseacables 5y agoI agree with the author, outdoor Amazon lockers just seem to be a crime magnet, at the very least for bored teenagers.
- alanbernstein 5y agoPackages in front of houses are crime magnets, literally the lowest-effort theft target. Is there actually a problem with crime around these lockers? Why would anyone try that rather than an ATM?
- rtkwe 5y agoATMs hold cold cash and are built like it. They're essentially safes and take time to tear apart and are very heavy to move. Amazon lockers are much thinner metal.
- alanbernstein 5y agoI figured we were talking about mugging. I've never heard of an amazon locker being cut into. I think they're placed in conspicuous locations for a reason.
- cardiffspaceman 5y agoCoin-op machines in many cases, have a big box with coins inside. The dilemma is, do you make the box like Fort Knox so that when the determined thief breaks in you lose the contents and have a huge replacement/repair cost? Or do you leave it easier to break into, lowering the replacement/repair cost? [1] The judgement by Amazon may be to take the risk on an easier package. [1] I used to work at a company that built coin-operated gambling machines such as video poker machines.
- bleachedsleet 5y agoAnecdotal, but my building management said they won’t be installing these lockers at any of their new properties due to them being targeted by thieves. They’re apparently fairly easy to pry open for a sufficiently motivated person.
- void_mint 5y agoI look forward to seeing this locker on tiktok being pushed into Lake Michigan
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- encryptluks2 5y agoThere are certain things Amazon won't even ship to me now since my complex has lockers. I'd prefer to just have things delivered to my door like before.
- josephcsible 5y agoPresumably Amazon is tired of dealing with porch pirates. It's hard to blame them.
- encryptluks2 5y agoThey should stop selling Ring/Blink cameras then.
- ars 5y agoThis seems like a mistaken location by a contractor.
- 2xpress 5y agoFrom the article: ... Ald. Rosanna Rodriguez (33rd) said a Park District supervisor told her the lockers in the park at 3259 N. Elston Ave. were installed there by mistake. Chicago Park District spokeswoman Irene Tostado wouldn’t confirm, saying only, “The locker was installed in the correct park.” ... Rodriguez on Friday asked the Park District supervisor to move the lockers to a more appropriate location... ... A total of 68 Amazon lockers are being installed at Chicago parks across the city, according to a list provided by the Park District... ... Rodriguez said the lockers are a symptom of a larger budgetary issue the city is facing. “When you have public institutions that are not well-funded, and can’t function with the budget they’re provided by the government, they need to look for other sources of revenue. This is how we get a company like Amazon to have a presence in our public parks. It’s disheartening,” the alderwoman said. ... Conclusion: It looks like Amazon is only half the problem here, the other half being corrupt local government bureaucrats taking bribes from Amazon.
- sokoloff 5y agoA company renting space from a city parks department is not a bribe. I’m sure all the vendors and food trucks I see in our local parks paid a fee of some sort to be allowed to hawk there. Those fees weren’t bribes either.
- coding123 5y agoThere's always bribery involved. You're just not aware of it.
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- jimmaswell 5y agoFee, bribe, protection money, not much difference.
- 2xpress 5y agoSorry, but aside from an occasional guy pushing an ice cream cart, I do not normally see vendors at local parks in United States. I recall once I was solicited to buy firewood at a county park, but when those guys saw the park ranger coming they drove away. I cannot think of a single instance when I saw a bolted-down structure selling food or anything else in a park, or anything with commercial signs. Those belong on a regular street in a business district. The closest I've seen to what you're describing is designated areas for food vendors at county fairs, food trucks at swap meets, and vending machines near the restrooms at highway rest areas. Regardless of the "rent", I do not see how shipping lockers are appropriate for a park. Even the post office does not put mailboxes inside a park. And if this is OK for Amazon does that mean UPS, FedEx, AliBaba, and whoever else can join in?? Yes, this is what corruption looks like.
- ilamont 5y agoA total of 68 Amazon lockers are being installed at Chicago parks across the city, according to a list provided by the Park District. Some have already been installed, and others are being installed later this month. I’m stunned that A) someone at Amazon and the city thought this was a good use of public green space and B) no one anticipated blowback.
- epicureanideal 5y agoIt actually seems fairly useful for say, the homeless population to have an easy place to pick up items, or people who are walking through the park to pick up items. The only issue I would have with this is, they should've created their own platform for it adjacent to the sidewalk, not ON the sidewalk, and the space should only be leased or licensed to Amazon temporarily, not permanently.
- chabes 5y agoSure, but at a park?
- micromacrofoot 5y agoClaiming Amazon lockers could be a boon for the homeless is incredibly dystopian.
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- baumandm 5y agoSure, but only because it highlights how little support society gives to the homeless.
- elihu 5y agoIs it? People who are poor still sometimes need to buy things, and not having a permanent mailing address would generally make it difficult to buy things that aren't locally available. I do think that having the Amazon logo displayed prominently on big metal boxes in a city park is dystopian. Doubly so when the big metal boxes are blocking the sidewalk.
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- itslennysfault 5y agoLooks like it's only held down with 4 bolts. Easy enough to remove if anyone is feeling motivated.
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- micromacrofoot 5y agoA mask, hammer, and a brisk nighttime tour of Chicago's parks
- spanktheuser 5y agoWonder what precautions they’ve taken to prevent jamming by superglue or two-part epoxy.
- ourmandave 5y agoLike the guys who installed it at the wrong address. =)
- eigenhombre 5y agoI live in Chicago (and in fact just got back from a walk in a park!). I will be outraged if I see one of these in my neighborhood. Sadly, if this isn't in fact a mistake, it won't be the first time in recent memory that city leadership has accommodated dubious private interests in public parks (see [1] for example). EDIT: fix typo [1] https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2013-06-27-ct-met-george-lucas-wedding-party-20130628-story.html https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2013-06-27-ct-met...
- smabie 5y agoOutraged seems like a but much right? Like it barely affects your life.
- unstatedAnswers 5y agoYou could say that about any number of things: global warming in the 2010’s, foreign war involvement, etc. In this case, OP likely feels it’s morally wrong and unfair that Amazon can do this.
- cirrus3 5y agoKaren has entered the chat
- dalanmiller 5y agoOne thing I really like about Australia is the Local Post Office vs GPO system. Being able to walk 15min max and get your packages that weren’t able to be delivered to your door is very convenient. From what I understand the LPOs are kind of a franchise that people own which extends the reach of the postal system. The USPS on the other hand is hamstrung half a million ways _and_ are expected to deliver packages to the middle of nowhere. Something similar to LPOs and Amazon cubbies would be an amazing improvement on things. Also we need to keep private interests out of parks, there are so few of them as it is already.
- ourmandave 5y agoThe list of other locations has 3285 N Elston Ave. This one is installed at 3259 N Elston Ave. Oops!