MINNEAPOLIS: A US city council voted last Thursday to ban the construction of new drive-thru windows including those at restaurants, banks, and liquor stores for the sake of pedestrian safety.
This ban was first proposed by Minneapolis city council president Lisa Bender last year. Although new facilities with drive-thrus are already banned in various Minneapolis districts, the approval of this new policy extends the ban to the entire city.
This change is being implemented to increase pedestrian safety, as crashes are especially common at fast-food locations with a drive-thru window, and to reduce vehicle emissions.
Decreasing unnecessary idling will improve the city's air quality and support their goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050. Minneapolis also aims to reduce the number of petrol stations in the city.
Existing facilities do not need to remove their windows, as the old rule will continue to apply in their case.
The council decision was reported by Streetsblog on Friday. Streetsblog is a US daily news site that connects people to information about how to reduce dependence on cars and improve conditions for walking, biking, and transit.
