Drive-Thru Nation

I'd like some more asphalt with that -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
When I recently visited Washington D.C., I noticed that they were proudly proclaiming themselves to be a “driver unfriendly city”. Cars are not welcome. My first reaction was to think that they need a new Chamber of Commerce. You’re deliberately closing off some streets, making others one-way and raising parking fines?? Then as I walked through the Dupont Circle area, I had to admit that I didn’t miss any of the noise or air pollution. DC also has nice, wide crosswalks and timers that tell you exactly how many seconds until the light changes – on every intersection.

I’m from Dallas, TX. Big D was founded @ 1848, but the lion’s share of our city was built after 1925, dedicated lovingly to the automobile. There is no eatery, bank, coffee house, or dry cleaner that doesn’t cater to drive-thru tastes. Motor courts and drive-in theaters are on the wane, but cars need not worry. Our AMC mega-theaters offer thousands of acres of blacktop. Our Red Roof Inns and Motel 8’s offer no less. In far-flung suburbs like Frisco and Garland, the paradigm has hardly changed. Nary a new “big box” goes up that doesn’t surround itself with an asphalt ocean.

Cards on the table – I like the convenience of cars and drive-thrus and I even like Wendy’s. But when I stroll through the walking districts of Boston, New York or Portland I have to wonder if we really need to take our 2-ton carbon monoxide belching monstrosities with us everywhere we go? When I saw smart cars and itsy little 3-seater cars in Paris and London, my first reaction was pity. “These poor souls, they’re so lacking in space”. But maybe they have an enriched sense of proportion. Since when did it become necessary for a car to be a living room or a rec room on wheels? Is it not possible to have a Wendy’s restaurant that you walk into? Think I’ve seen that somewhere.

Washington DC has thrown down the gauntlet – “a pox on your car”. You are more than welcome; your Ford Explorer is vehicle non grata. Your noisy, polluting, 2-ton fire belcher will have to stay at airport parking thanks very much. The concept has been proved in Europe, Japan and parts of the USA. You can design cities so that cars are an occasional convenience rather than a necessity. My thanks to our nation’s capital for putting cars, if nothing else, into perspective.

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