Madison, WI official advocates ban on drive-thrus to fight climate change

[TheMightyFavog]

http://www.jsonline.com/watch/?watch=1&date=6/25/2008&id=42201

A member of Madison's Plan Commission thinks the city ought to consider a ban on restaurant drive-thrus.

Eric Sundquist, appointed to the Plan Commission by Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz last month, says it's only an idea, a consideration, a proposal that needs more discussion.

(snip)

"If we are serious about climate change, it doesn't make sense to approve facilities for idling cars for health and safety reasons," he said this morning. "You have a number of cars idling for several minutes on purpose. It's going backwards."


(snip)

Sundquist said more research was needed, but recalled that some Canadian cities and at least one California city had acted to restrict or ban the popular drive-thrus.

[pepperbear]

1. could mean the return of the drive-IN. n/t

[pt22]

10. No Sonic where you are?

:D

They're enormously popular in Oklahoma. I've noticed also at the local McDonalds if someone places a big order that will take a while, they tell them to go park and they bring it out to their car! Why the hell can't that be standard procedure for everyone?...it wouldn't even require many if any more employees...

[dflprincess]

12. The first Sonic in Minnesota opened last week

It's been mobbed and they actually use another parking lot as a staging area where drivers have to wait until there is room for them at the drive in. Cleverly, Sonic has been advertising on local cable for some time. I ate at one in Missiouri - it was good but not worth sitting in my car for more than an hour waiting to get a parking place.

And, I wonder how it's going to work in the winter.

[pt22]

13. I lived in Minnesota...nothing works there in winter.

:D

Probably when the 'new' wears off the wait won't be so long. The ones around here (it can get down near zero) pipe warm air out to the ordering stand thing like drive-in movies used to do...we just hang the hose in the window and stay toasty. :-)

[LanternWaste]

17. Sonic's foot long chili cheese conies, proof of God's existence...

Sonic's foot long chili cheese conies, absolute proof of God's existence...

Yeah... I think I know what's on the dinner menu tonight. :)

[pt22]

18. YES! Dammit, why can't I make those at home? They have a secret

ingredient, I guess. :D

[IndyOp]

2. Yes! Go Madison! (n/t)

[Mountainman]

3. Let's get rid of traffic lights too!

:eyes:

[elocs]

5. All traffic lights should at least have sensors

so you're not sitting at a red light with nobody else within miles, just waiting for the time to pass until it turns green. I've also seen a whole line of cars at a red light waiting for the timed light to turn green when there is absolutely no traffic of the road with the green light.

[geomon666]

20. Amen!

Oh you were kidding...

[cherokeeprogressive]

4. I started a thread advocating this a long time ago and got trashed for it.

When I posted it I got replies about everything from saving time to handicapped people.

I've always thought that idling cars were a huge waste of resources. There is an In-N-Out burger where I grew up and on any given weekday you can count at least fifty cars waiting in one of two drive-thru lanes. Right down the street are all the other drive-thru fast food joints that to a lesser extent have the same thing going on. What a huge waste of gasoline.

I support this 100%

[DS1]

6. Me too, not 100%, but it should be curtailed a lot

especially with a break-away lane so when you order 14 different coffees, six bagel sandwiches and whatever else, you drive away and park after being told to fuck off and pick it up inside

[cherokeeprogressive]

7. LOL!

[wtmusic]

8. Well intentioned, but...

This seems like a high-profile "solution" (nuisance) which will have very little impact.

Merely requiring drivers to get an air filter change at a state-licensed facility once annually would increase fuel efficiency up to 10%.

[GoneOffShore]

9. On it's face, a good idea.

A car, after all, is transportation.

Not an office, a lunchroom, a beauty salon or a phone booth.

[pansypoo53219]

11. i don't do drive thru much.

i'll shut the car off.

[dysfunctional press]

14. what a silly suggestion.

maybe next he'll suggest they should just convert them all to light-rail thrus instead....:eyes:

[kestrel91316]

15. In 'n' Out fans won't be happy if they ban drive-thrus.......

I am all in favor of it, BTW. The In 'n' Out across the street causes WAY too many accidents with the traffic idling on the street, and cars pulling in and out in a hurry - it's a neighborhood hazard. And I get so angry seeing all those cars (mostly giant UAVs) idling for LONG periods in line.

[DangerDave921]

16. NO NO NO

I say ban all drive-thrus IF -- and only if -- we want the MSM and the RW'ers to once again proclaim that Dems are loony crackpots. Seriously, folks, we would look like absolute morons if this is our solution to global warming. Unless someone can show me a study that proves substantial savings by passing this law. But I somehow doubt it.

How about we pass laws banning our car A/C unless it's a designated temperature outside?

[cherokeeprogressive]

19. The longest journey starts with a single step.

It's not about saving money, it's about saving the planet. It's not THE solution, but part of a larger picture. I say GO.

Are you old enough to remember when there WERE NO drive-thrus? I am. Do you realize that they've only been around since 1970? I can remember our local Mickey D's; it didn't even have a dining room. Goodness, how life has improved since Wendy's opened the first drive-thru huh?

I'm trying to find stats on how many MILLIONS of cars patronize drive-thru fast food in a single day, and how much CO2 levels have increased since 1970. I'd also like to know if the graph gets a little steeper AFTER 1970. When I find them I'll post them here and we can debate this further.

[DangerDave921]

22. Disagree

I'm 41 so don't really remember the early days of fast food. But if we're going to pass laws banning drive-thrus, then we might as well pass laws on how far a person is allowed to drive in a day. What if I want to drive 20 miles to go to my favorite restaurant? Should I be allowed to, or should I be made to go to a restaurant closer to home? Or what if I get home from the store and realize I forgot tomatoes? Should I be allowed to go back to the store and burn all that extra gas?
If it's truly about saving the planet, then I guess we should pass laws on that too.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that you can't unduly restrict freedom of movement. And using a drive-thru seems to be a silly way to restrict gas usage when we can burn as much as we want doing all our other activities.

How about banning private jets that carry three people across the country? Now I could get behind that law!

[cherokeeprogressive]

23. Then we agree to disagree.

I respect your opinion. On the subject of climate change though, either we're in a world of shit and need to do something about it now, or everything is rosy and damn the torpedoes Gridley, full speed ahead!

What about CAFE regulations regarding how many miles per gallon US built cars must get? Shouldn't the automakers be allowed to make fleets of 700hp cars if they want to?

[undeterred]

21. I think the high price of takeout food will take care of this

all on its own. What Madison really needs to offer is a bus or van from Madison to Milwaukee for commuters, since there is no way to go these 75 miles except driving, and plenty of people do it.