A small Georgia neighborhood has been overrun by dozens of empty self-driving cars, aimlessly circling the quaint area as they wait for their next ride request.

White Waymo vehicles - fully autonomous cars operating without anyone behind the wheel - now offer around-the-clock ride-hailing services in dozens of major US cities as of this month. 

But in a community nestled in northwest Atlanta, driverless cars have turned a once-quiet cul-de-sac into a Waymo hang out, circling the streets from morning to night. 

'Our big concern is just the excessive traffic on the street,' one neighbor told Atlanta News First.

'You know, we’re families, we have small kids, we have animals and pets, we’ve got kids getting on the bus in the mornings, and it just doesn’t feel safe to have that traffic,' they added.

Another resident said they have witnessed at least two close calls, with empty cars waiting for riders nearly striking a neighborhood cat and a dog on a leash. 

'I think yesterday morning we had 50 cars that came through between six and seven,' a third revealed.

Residents said they reached out to Waymo directly and have not yet received any response or explanation as to why their vehicles are habitually gathering on their block. 

On Thursday, neighbors living on the well-groomed cul-de-sac on Battleview Drive raised concerns about what they described as a dystopian scene unfolding outside their doorstep, which they said has escalated over the past two weeks. 

In one video obtained by WSB-TV, a Waymo car enters the cul-de-sac as another departs, circling a tree in the center before exiting - only for the pattern to repeat again and again like a revolving door. 

Other videos from neighbors showed a total of 13 driverless vehicles cruising through the community in just 10 minutes.

One resident put up a neon yellow 'Step2Kid' sign in the street, though the outcome was even more disastrous than before. 

'We had, at one point, eight Waymos that were stuck trying to figure out how to turn around,' a neighbor told the outlet. 

A clip showed dozens of identical white vehicles packed along a dead-end street, nearly bumper to bumper, seemingly waiting to decide their next move in or out of the neighborhood. 

Parents, pet owners and homeowners alike have noted that the cars, which they say begin cluttering the streets in the early hours of the morning, are consistently empty and not picking up passengers. 

Residents said they are at a loss for what to do and described the vehicles’ constant presence as excessive and dangerous, saying their neighborhood has become saturated with driverless cars just waiting around for a task.

'We would like to just see them stay on main traffic roads,' a neighbor added. 'I don’t think there’s any reason for them to be on small residential cul-de-sacs if they’re not picking up somebody.'  

The unofficial Waymo meeting ground stretches beyond Battleview Drive’s cul-de-sac into nearby communities, including Fernleaf Circle and the area near the Glenridge Woods Townhomes - private property nearby. 

'It’s almost every little cul-de-sac in our area, so I think it’s a problem,' a resident said.

Deborah Childers, who lives on nearby private property, told Atlanta News First she first began noticing the cars last week while out walking her dog Hazel.

'I’m just hoping that Waymo will only come in our neighborhood when they’re called, like an Uber, you know, not use our neighborhood as a holding area or a training ground,' Childers told the outlet.

'It’s enough of them that it’s bothersome,' she added. 'It’s not like one. It’s like three or maybe four. They do the same loop.'

Another neighbor told the outlet it would only make sense for a Waymo vehicle to enter the neighborhood for a ride request, especially as her street is already under construction.

'When you combine the Waymo traffic and construction that’s going on, it’s just kind of mass chaos,' she said.

After receiving no response from the company, residents turned to local representatives for help. 

'They kind of passed the buck to the next person,' one Battleview neighbor told Atlanta News First.

'Then we’ve tried state representatives, haven’t heard back from them. We tried GDOT, haven’t heard back from them,' they added. 'We really just don’t know what to do about it.'

In a statement to the outlet, a Waymo spokesperson said, 'At Waymo, we are committed to being good neighbors. We take community feedback seriously and have already addressed this routing behavior.' 

'With over 500,000 weekly trips across the country, our service is proven to significantly reduce traffic injuries and improve road safety.'

'We value our relationship with Atlanta residents and remain focused on providing a seamless, respectful, and safe experience for riders and residents alike.' 

Waymo recently recalled thousands of robotaxis across the US following an incident in which a self-driving car was swept into a creek. 

In a notice posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website on Tuesday, the company announced it would begin a 'voluntary recall' on nearly 3,800 cars using Waymo's fifth and sixth generation self–driving systems.

Waymo said the move was prompted by a software issue affecting the vehicles that could allow them to drive onto flooded roads. 

In another incident in San Antonio, Texas, on April 20, a Waymo drove into a flooded road at around 40mph and was swept away by the waters. 

While the vehicle had no passengers at the time and no injuries occurred, the company warned that the unexpected behavior could lead to 'a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.'

Waymo, which is owned by Google's parent company Alphabet, said a solution is currently 'under development' to prevent self–driving cars from accessing waterlogged areas.