Numerous Cities Contemplating Drive-thru Ban
By cstar, 03/02/09
Various Canadian cities – including North Vancouver, BC, Edmonton, AB, King's County, NS, and Toronto, Peterborough, London, Ajax, Mississauga, and Sarnia, ON – are currently looking at banning, more strictly regulating, or studying the impacts of drive-thru restaurants.
As reported by CTV.ca on January 22, "A North Vancouver councillor wants to ban restaurants from building drive-thrus in his city because he's worried about the environmental damages caused by idling vehicles. Councillor Sam Schechter introduced a motion Monday night to ban drive-thrus at restaurants. The motion would also prevent the only current restaurant in the City of North Vancouver with a drive-thru, an A&W, from expanding...In the U.S., two cities in California and one in North Carolina have imposed moratoriums on drive-thrus as a result of similar initiatives. City council has ordered an investigation into Schechter's motion and has asked for a report in a few months."
The Kitchener-Record also reported on January 22 that, "Kitchener could soon join a growing list of cities looking to ban, or regulate more closely, new drive-thru operations. City council is expected to consider the issue in early March, following the lead of cities that include London, Hamilton, Mississauga and Winnipeg.
In 2006, an air-quality report from the (Kitchener Environmental Advisory) committee called for a ban on drive-thrus and for an anti-idling campaign...The report was accepted by city councillors, who launched an anti-idling campaign last year...but city councillors took no action on drive-thrus."
On January 25, the Edmonton Sun reported that, "Some green-minded civic politicians want Edmonton to consider closing the window on new restaurant drive-thrus and their idling vehicles. The belief is that would send fewer greenhouse gases into the atmosphere...(Councillor Don) Iveson said a ban on new drive-thrus could be considered in the Alberta capital as the city in the coming months reviews the way neighbourhoods are designed. He wants to see more pedestrian-friendly planning...Councillor Dave Thiele said a ban on drive-thrus may ultimately be what the city needs. He said he's stopped using the lanes altogether in an effort to reduce his carbon footprint and because he finds the service inside to be quicker."
And the Erie Times-News reported on February 10, "Toronto and Vancouver have instituted bans on building new drive-thru coffee shops and created strict regulations on building drive-thrus in residential, mixed commercial-residential areas and some pedestrian areas. Other cities, including Hamilton and North Vancouver, are considering similar regulations. Officials who are proponents of the bans say that bans of drive-thrus would improve air quality by reducing the number of idling cars."
Toronto's CityTV reported on December 17, 2007 that, "Two years ago, a Toronto bylaw came into effect prohibiting new drive-thrus within 100 feet of any residential property. But some councillors think it's time to toughen up that law. 'Many, many American municipalities have gone in the direction of just absolutely banning drive-thrus, and it's time for the city of Toronto to consider the same,' maintains Councillor Joe Mihevc."
Business opposition
In terms of opposition to the proposed bans on drive-thrus, the Kitchener-Record reported that, "City councillors recently deferred any decision about a ban on new drive-thrus because they want to hear details of a study by Mike Lepage of RWDI, a Guelph-based consulting firm. The study concludes that cars idling in a drive-thru are less harmful than having the engines shut off for a few minutes and then restarted. The study cited the burst of particulates that is released when a cooling engine restarts. The study was paid for by Tim Hortons and is being peer-reviewed by scientists at Carleton University in Ottawa, said Victor Labreche, a private-sector planner representing Tim Hortons, who appeared before councillors recently.
The peer review won't be ready until late February or early March. City councillors want to see the review before making any decision about a ban." The North Shore News reported on January 23 that, "The drive-through option offers safety and convenience to many people, such as parents with small children, the physically challenged and the elderly, and a ban would produce questionable environmental benefits, he said. Parking lot only locations produce about 60 per cent more green house gases and 20 per cent more smog pollutants than drive-through services, Mark von Schellwitz (spokesman for the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association) said."
Yet, as reported by the Canadian Press on December 8, 2007, "Students at the University of Alberta monitored a popular Tim Hortons outlet in Edmonton last year for 54 hours and counted 3,756 vehicles idling for an average of more than five minutes each. The longest idle was more than 12 minutes." Additionally, the Edmonton Sun reported that, "A 2006 University of Alberta study found that vehicles idling in fast-food drive-thrus across Edmonton contribute about 8,600 tonnes of emissions per year into the atmosphere." A study conducted by the Ontario Medical Association in 2005 estimated that there are 5,829 premature deaths and 16,807 hospital admissions due to air pollution each year.
The London chapter
The London chapter of the Council of Canadians has launched a petition which states, "Drive-throughs are an incredible detriment to our environment and are a luxury item we can live without. Climate Change is real. A grave threat to all life on this planet. It is time to place our environment and the health and well being of our children ahead of business interests and profits. I demand that all levels of government impose an immediate moratorium on all new commercial drive-through operations and establish a timetable to phase out all existing drive-through operations through zoning or other by-laws." To sign the petition go to, http:/
The Council of Canadians has argued that the five principles of a Canadian Energy Strategy should include security of supply, production, distribution, access, and the environment. Within security of the environment we argue that, "Canadians are concerned about climate change. In spite of this, we are also a wasteful nation in terms of water and energy use, and greenhouse gas emissions. We need to push the government to enact policies that meet the expectations of Canadians by encouraging environmentally sustainable production, distribution and use of energy."
And as municipal politicians consider the idea of addressing drive-thru restaurants, federal politicians may want to look again at the issue of federal cabinet ministers and their idling limousines on Parliament Hill. As reported by the CanWest News Service on February 5, 2007, "Federal cabinet ministers must insist their chauffeurs stop idling their limousines for hours at a time during long winter meetings on Parliament Hill, according to MPs who add that every measure counts when it comes to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions...(MP Yves) Godin wants the House affairs committee to resurrect a 1990 edict ordering ministers' chauffeurs to stop idling their engines. RCMP officers were asked to enforce the rule, said Godin."
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