Chicago, IllinoisDelivery robots
Delivery robots jam a sidewalk in Chicago's Lincoln Park
A routing error sent at least a dozen robots to the same stretch of North Clark Street, leaving little room for people on foot.
CHICAGO — A runner on her usual route along North Clark Street, near Lincoln Park, found the sidewalk taken over by at least a dozen Coco food-delivery robots on the morning of Monday, Aug. 31. Robots in the middle of the cluster seemed to be trying to work their way out while the ones on the edges sat still, and anyone on foot had to pick a path around them. Her video of the jam spread widely online.
Coco apologized and blamed what it called a "sidewalk deployment error": several robots leaving their station at the start of the day were rerouted at the same moment and ended up in the same place. The company said the jam cleared within minutes and that it has added safeguards so it doesn't happen again.
The robots operate under a Chicago pilot program that has faced petitions to pause it, along with earlier reports of sidewalk jams and at least two crashes into bus shelters. People who saw the video raised concerns about what a cluster like this means for anyone using a wheelchair or a walker.
At a glance
- Where
- North Clark Street near Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois
- When
- Monday morning, Aug. 31, 2026
- What
- At least a dozen sidewalk delivery robots stuck in one cluster
- Operator
- Coco Robotics
- Cause
- A routing error as the robots left their station, according to the company
- Cleared
- Within minutes, the company said
Original headline: “Delivery robots clog up Chicago sidewalk after 'deployment error'”
Read the full story on ABC11Also reported by CBS News Chicago and Fox News. Summary written by sonr from published news reports. sonr was not involved in this incident and isn't affiliated with the companies or news outlets named.