Mega drive-throughs explain everything wrong with American cities

[SIGSEGV]

I wouldn't be opposed to a drivethrough on Lower Lower Wacker Drive...

[edale]

There's a new development on Figueroa by USC that features a Taco Bell with a drive-thru incorporated into the parking garage, too. If there has to be a drive-thru, this is the best way to do it.

Chick-Fil-A, In N Out, and Starbucks seem to be the worst offenders for driveways that I've seen. It seems like Starbucks especially is shifting priorities to drive-thrus, and people will line up down the block waiting for it.

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by JManc

Yes but people love chicken and I'm sure a Chick-Fil-A would do well in SF if given the opportunity. Most are franchises anyway so no connection to the bigoted CEO in corporate. There's one in Emeryville for all those Berkeley students eating some nuggets in the DL.

There's one at Serramonte in Daly City and it's always busy.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by meh

In this case (i.e. the development discussed in the article) St. Louis' municipal fragmentation and dysfunction compounds the problem.

No doubt that doesn't help, but it's also not a necessary ingredient.

The city of Chicago greenlights these fucking things in C and M districts all over town. Hell, there's even a pair of these god-awful double lane drive-thru monstrosities in the heart of rivernorth!! (a McD's and a Portillo's).

Originally Posted by meh

(P.S. It must the "shit all over St. Louis" part of the news cycle again.)

Yeah, I can see how it feels that way with all the recent articles about the city's moribund office market, but I didn't post this one to pile on, I just can't fucking stand these things, and how Chicago continues allowing them to get built, and this article came across my feed and fanned my flames.

The fact that the author was inspired to write about this topic by a trip to st. louis was not me trying to pick at scabs. These fucking things are an ever-growing nation-wide cancer.

[Doady]

Former long-time mayor of Mississauga, Hazel McCallion, hated drive-thrus so much that she tried to ban them from the city altogether. Eventually, the city imposed severe restrictions and new guidelines, especially at major intersections, to prevent long lineups from blocking the roads and sidewalks and impeding cars and pedestrian traffic.

Mississauga takes aim at drive-throughs

Mississauga mayor wants to fine drive-thru idlers

[SIGSEGV]

Yeah maybe we should start fining them each them they back up into the street...

[meh]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

Yeah, I can see how it feels that way with all the recent articles about the city's moribund office market, but I didn't post this one to pile on, I just can't fucking stand these things, and how Chicago continues allowing them to get built, and this article came across my feed and fanned my flames.

The fact that the author was inspired to write about this topic by a trip to st. louis was not me trying to pick at scabs. These fucking things are an ever-growing nation-wide cancer.

oh, no problem. i was just commenting on all the shitty copycat "journalism". one of the articles going around this cycle made statements like "Downtown St. Louis doesn't even have a library!" it has two, including St. Louis Central Library: a beautifully maintained and update Carnegie library designed by Cass Gilbert. it just gets tiresome.

[Emprise du Lion]

Originally Posted by meh

oh, no problem. i was just commenting on all the shitty copycat "journalism". one of the articles going around this cycle made statements like "Downtown St. Louis doesn't even have a library!" it has two, including St. Louis Central Library: a beautifully maintained and update Carnegie library designed by Cass Gilbert. it just gets tiresome.

Great. Which one said we don't have a library?

Also, I don't know which is worse: Being ignored by the media, or the media all running St. Louis sucks articles. It's great.

As for U City, you would think they would have realized that walkable and bikeable communities are ideal. They have the majority of the Delmar Loop for God's sake and a ton of WashU students.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by Doady

Former long-time mayor of Mississauga, Hazel McCallion, hated drive-thrus so much that she tried to ban them from the city altogether. Eventually, the city imposed severe restrictions and new guidelines, especially at major intersections, to prevent long lineups from blocking the roads and sidewalks and impeding cars and pedestrian traffic.

Mississauga takes aim at drive-throughs

Mississauga mayor wants to fine drive-thru idlers

She was certainly on to something. Drive-thrus impose so many costs on the environment: pollution, congestion, and sheer ugliness.

Welcome to Truck Whorton's

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

She was certainly on to something. Drive-thrus impose so many costs on the environment: pollution, congestion, and sheer ugliness.

Welcome to Truck Whorton's

That's what freedom looks like lol.

[ColDayMan]

I'll just say, we have a billion Tim Horton's in Ohio and I've NEVER seen a drive-thru line at any of them. That photo is remarkable.

[MolsonExport]

EVERY Rim Whoreton's in Canada has massive lineups of cars for much of the day. It is a complete mystery. The food is really mediocre at best, the service is much worse, and the prices are not that great either. Pigs slop on the go?

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by ColDayMan

I'll just say, we have a billion Tim Horton's in Ohio and I've NEVER seen a drive-thru line at any of them. That photo is remarkable.

Probably because the coffee at Tim Horton's is gross.

[sopas ej]

As an aside, I've never heard of Portillo's. I looked it up to see if they have any California locations, and sure enough, there are only 2 in the Greater Los Angeles area... one in Buena Park (Orange County) and one in Moreno Valley (next to Riverside).

Is it any good? Looking at the menu, if I were to go to one, I think I'd get the chopped salad.

Looking at the name, in my head I'm pronouncing it "Por-TEE-yos." Is that how it's pronouned? Or is it "Por-TILL-os"?

As another aside, it's funny because apparently in other parts of the US, people don't pronounce Spanish names the way we do here in southern California. I occasionally have to deal with people on the phone in the Northeast and South, and they pronounce these names differently:

Mario
Ramos
Morales

We say "MAH-ree-yo," some say "MEH-ree-yo."
We say "RAH-mos," some say "RAY-mos."
We say "Mo-RAH-less" or "Mo-RAH-lezz," (and this was a new one for me last week), some apparently say "Moh-RALZ."

[benp]

Originally Posted by ColDayMan

I'll just say, we have a billion Tim Horton's in Ohio and I've NEVER seen a drive-thru line at any of them. That photo is remarkable.

I just checked, and there are 221 Tim Horton's listed in the Buffalo area, and yes, many if not most have lines every day.

Most of the drive-thru's that exist in the city were grandfathered in before the Green Code passed, or took over an existing drive-thru. Most of the city does not allow new drive-thrus except for a couple of designated big box store areas in North Buffalo. The Zoning Board did allow a couple of new ones with a drive-thru, but was required to make it a mixed-use building, and tucked away in the back.

Tim Horton's Michigan Ave
Tim Horton's Niagara Street

However, in the suburbs, directly across the city line in the Village of Kenmore, a full block formerly occupied by sidewalk-fronted shops (later torn town) was replaced just recently:

Tim Horton's Kenmore
Kenmore before Tim Horton's

[Gresto]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

That's what freedom looks like lol.

Ye ain't gonna see no woke pinko commies usin' a drive-thru. Yee haw, giddy up, motherfucker!

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by benp

I just checked, and there are 221 Tim Horton's listed in the Buffalo area

221 Tim Hortons
More per capita than Hamilton, Ontario the original home of Tim's.
site of original Ottawa St location
https://maps.app.goo.gl/y4ELZPnv87nWt3RC9

[craigs]

There are zero Tim Hortons in California. I've had them when I was in NYC and I don't think we're missing anything.

[JManc]

Five Tim Horton's in Houston with two more opening up in the next few months.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by craigs

There are zero Tim Hortons in California. I've had them when I was in NYC and I don't think we're missing anything.

Zero in Chicago as well.

Kalamazoo appears to have the closest tim hortons to us.

Never had it.


But we do have ~85 billion dunkins, so.........