There is no moratorium. I was asked to consider the idea, and I agreed to take it to my committee, but that is a routine courtesy that I extend to any councillor, not a commitment to impose a moratorium. I personally don’t think it’s necessary.
We will certainly be careful to scrutinize any future requests so we have some confidence that a drive-thru can accommodate the expected volume of traffic, but I would also remind the public not to line up in a public right-of-way. I will ask the Chief of Police to enforce this if necessary.
This isn’t a new problem, and to my knowledge there’s never been a serious incident as a result. However, I do recognize the concerns, and I want to deal with them. There is no question the line ups are creating a traffic impediment, but we can’t collectively punish every business that has, or wants, a drive-thru because of the popularity of a handful of Tim Horton’s.
I will be meeting with the Police & Bylaw Enforcement Committee later this month for the first time since becoming chair. We will decide on a course of action then. I still think a cooperative approach will result in the best overall solution.
Rob, I’d encourage you to reconsider you position on the drive-thru moratorium. While the discussion has been centred on the impact to traffic patterns, drive-thrus also have a dubious past when pedestrians and cyclists are thrown into the mix.
I know that the city does not have an official traffic planning position (though I would recommend the city consider an official transportation planner that could develop a transportation Master Plan for the city) but it would be prudent to do some serious research on the impact of drive-thrus on the cityscape.
There is far more at play here than some simple traffic tie-ups.
Ping me if you want to chat off-line about this…
PFA, I would certainly agree that drive-thrus are not the height of human achievement and are blight on the urban landscape like many other modern conveniences; however, to deal with the immediate problem at hand — cars queueing in the public right-of-way — I don’t believe a moratorium is necessary. There are three or four locations, max, where this is an issue — all under the same operator.
In my capacity as chair of police committee I am attempting to deal with that problem directly, but I would welcome a wider discussion on transportation planning. That may be a subject more appropriate for Public Works where they are currently undergoing a review of all traffic lighting. It might be natural to continue that effort with something more comprehensive like you’re suggesting. Would love to chat… I’m sure we’ll run into each other at the ATC
St. John’s Drops Drive-Thru Objections.