Life Mystery #47: bars with parking lots, WTF?

[Steely Dan]

surface parking lots are of course very stupid.

but there is one special kind of surface parking lot that's even more stupid than the rest: the one that's attached to a bar.

why in the hell would anyone ever want to encourage people to drive their own personal vehicles to a business whose main reason for existence is to serve alcohol to its customers?

this makes absolutely zero sense to me. bars should do everything they can to encourage their patrons to do everything other than drink and drive.

~10,000 americans are killed in drunk driving wrecks each year, and yet we still build bars with parking lots attached to them, in many cases even mandate them by law.

madness.

[iheartthed]

In many places it's due to zoning, right?

[mhays]

So many complexities with that one. Of course you're right in general.

What about restaurants? If a restaurant has a bar or serves alcohol, wouldn't the same apply? How do you separate groups? Would a different set of standards mostly just shift customers to the one with easier rules?

Part of me wants to just add breathalyzers to ignitions.

Another part wonders why we're not doing the same things for other killers. Sober speeders kill thousands per year, so can we crack down on them?

The truth is we've built a society around cars, and we largely ignore the death and destruction that results. We make certain aspects safer but don't address the fundamental issue.

[PHX31]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

surface parking lots are of course very stupid.

but there is one special kind of surface parking lot that's even more stupid than the rest: the one that's attached to a bar.

why in the hell would anyone ever want to encourage people to drive their own personal vehicles to a business whose main reason for existence is to serve alcohol to its customers?

this makes absolutely zero sense to me. bars should do everything they can to encourage their patrons to do everything other than drink and drive.

~10,000 americans are killed in drunk driving wrecks each year, and yet we still build bars with parking lots attached to them, in many cases even mandate them by law.

madness.

I get what you're trying to say... but, employees, designated drivers or other non-drinkers, etc. I also don't think bars are very often newly built as a stand-alone development. Maybe sports bars or restaurants with high alcohol sales, but not just a drinking place. I'd say instead of trying to eliminate parking altogether in the name of drunk driving, make options and definitive curb space or ride share areas to encourage good choices.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by mhays

Part of me wants to just add breathalyzers to ignitions.

Biden's infrastructure bill includes a mandate that automakers have to include anti-drunk driving measures within 4-5 years.

[sopas ej]

Then there'd be no roadside honky-tonk "Thelma & Louise" near-rape scene.

"In the future, when a woman's crying like that---SHE ISN'T HAVING ANY FUN!!"

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by mhays

Part of me wants to just add breathalyzers to ignitions.

hmmmm...... intriguing idea.

of course the free-dumb crowd would go ape-shit.

but that does sound like a potentially effective method to put big old dent in DD deaths.

[dchan]

The message is much clearer for bars that located on country roads in the middle of nowhere. These aren't exactly places swimming with alternative transportation options (transit, enough cabs/uber drivers to arrive at the bar to drive home patrons in a timely manner)

[Pedestrian]

I assume you need a place to leave your car after you've taken Uber home (I'm an optimist).

Also some upstanding groups of drinkers bring along a designated driver who doesn't indulge. I don't drink and have played that role for visiting relatives who do.

[SIGSEGV]

I used to have to spend significant time in Carlsbad, NM for an experiment. One of our British colleagues asked a bartender what the legal limit was and the bartender laughed.

[202_Cyclist]

Life Mystery #48: Police know what is going on in these bars and seem to tolerate intoxicated driving.

There are approximately 40,000 auto fatalities each year in America. We seemingly think this is perfectly okay because enforcing intoxicated driving laws would deter this reckless behavior and save lives.

[proghousehead]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

Life Mystery #48: Police know what is going on in these bars and seem to tolerate intoxicated driving.

There are approximately 40,000 auto fatalities each year in America. We seemingly think this is perfectly okay because enforcing intoxicated driving laws would deter this reckless behavior and save lives.

Off topic but MDC fan?

[SAN Man]

Can somebody post an example or a picture of a non-food serving bar with a parking lot large enough to include patrons? I'm trying to think of one in the local area and can't come up with any without doing further searching.

I think it would have to be an older grandfathered bar, but then if it's older, then it probably doesn't have a parking lot.

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by SAN Man

Can somebody post an example or a picture of a non-food serving bar with a parking lot large enough to include patrons? I'm trying to think of one in the local area and can't come up with any without doing further searching.

I think it would have to be an older grandfathered bar, but then if it's older, then it probably doesn't have a parking lot.

Here's one by the IL-WI state line 11601 Sheridan Rd
https://maps.app.goo.gl/a9CiHjjhjSNLE6n27

[plinko]

^most small towns in America?

[jmecklenborg]

Originally Posted by SAN Man

Can somebody post an example or a picture of a non-food serving bar with a parking lot large enough to include patrons? I'm trying to think of one in the local area and can't come up with any without doing further searching.

I think it would have to be an older grandfathered bar, but then if it's older, then it probably doesn't have a parking lot.

Ahem:
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1244...7i16384!8i8192

If police wanted to shoot fish in a barrel, they'd hang out in front of country clubs and expensive restaurants where rich guys drink (too much) at all hours of the day.

[BnaBreaker]

This is pretty common in rural areas and small towns isn't it? I mean, do you guys just think people in the areas of the country without access to mass transit and/or ample rideshare options (which is a pretty big chunk of it) just don't go to bars?

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by BnaBreaker

This is pretty common in rural areas and small towns isn't it? I mean, do you guys just think people in the areas of the country without access to mass transit and/or ample rideshare options (which is a pretty big chunk of it) just don't go to bars?

Actually I am currently living in a small town that I bet has a lot of steady drinkers but I can't think of anyplace that serves alcohol and no food.

Recently some guy wanted to open a brew pub but it never got off the ground (and I assume he would have served some kind of food anyway).

Of course we are only 40 miles from Mexico and you can drive down there (lots of U. of AZ kids do on weekends) park on the US side and walk across the border to lots of cantinas, then walk back across and drive home on I-19. I avoid that road on Friday and Saturday nights.


https://www.nogalesinternational.com...20d7202c1.html

[biguc]

https://www.google.com/maps/@49.8210...7i13312!8i6656

Bar closes at 2. Transit stops at 1:30 but they have an acre of free parking. What's all this about entrapment?

[ocman]

The parking lot is part of the property of the landlord. You've got to assume many different types of businesses are going to occupy that space every 5-10 years where a parking lot may make more sense. Food/beverage industry is fickle.