henric
04-03-2012, 01:19 AM
02/04/2012 8:30:00 AM
by Monica Bugajski
Due to the traffic and frustration Tim Hortons drive-thrus are causing, a Saskatoon city councillor has proposed a ban on future drive-thrus, but is it really necessary?
Canadians have been known to love Tim Hortons, but it seems that residents of Saskatoon have taken that love a little too far. Motorists waiting in the drive-thru lines at two particular downtown locations have caused so much traffic and mayhem that a city councillor has proposed a ban on future drive-thrus.
Perhaps you, like myself, are scoffing at the proposal, thinking it surely must be one person's silly overreaction, but it appears that Saskatoon isn't the only city with a Timmies problem. The issue was brought up at the national transportation engineering conference last year because traffic at Tim Hortons drive-thrus greatly exceeds that of any other fast-food joint in Canada, which is great for business but bad for public safety.
Frustrated motorists are dangerous motorists, and coffee-less, frustrated motorists are particularly precarious. They cut off cars, clog up traffic, make illegal turns, and block sidewalks, making it perilous for pedestrians and cyclists. It got so bad at one drive-thru in Alberta last month that one driver cut in line and pulled a gun on another patron who tried to stop him. Ok, sure, it turned out to be just a pellet gun, but nevertheless, the guy's message was loud and clear. Nothing was getting between him and his Timmies.
In Saskatoon, the councillor's suggested ban comes from the fact that the city has had to install a traffic barricade because eager patrons were making so many illegal turns and blocking a major intersection. I would agree with Saskatoon Councillor Pat Lorje in that the franchisees should pay for the traffic changes their establishments force the city to make. She says, "We spend megabucks on traffic modification and so forth to try to deal with the inordinate traffic created at certain times of day." But should the alternative really be a ban?
I don't think we should all be punished for the actions of a few, but at the same time, would it really be that bad if there weren't any drive-thrus? Are we that spoiled that we are unwilling to actually have to get out of our cars (gasp) and walk (double gasp) from our parking spots to the front door?
I can understand that people don't want to get out of their cars and brave the snowstorms and freezing winds that sometimes plague our country, but I know that I'd much rather go inside and order what I need to at the counter than wait twice or three times as long in the drive-thru line wasting not only my time but also my money.
You see, all that money I exhaust idling in the drive-thru line could be spent on other things. Idling for 10 minutes a day wastes about 102 litres of fuel a year, and with today's gas prices, that could buy me a lot of Timbits. Let it also be know that idling for just 10 seconds uses more fuel than restarting your engine, so it pays to park the car.
So while an all-out drive-thru ban seems unnecessary, a little frugality could go a long way.
by Monica Bugajski
Due to the traffic and frustration Tim Hortons drive-thrus are causing, a Saskatoon city councillor has proposed a ban on future drive-thrus, but is it really necessary?
Canadians have been known to love Tim Hortons, but it seems that residents of Saskatoon have taken that love a little too far. Motorists waiting in the drive-thru lines at two particular downtown locations have caused so much traffic and mayhem that a city councillor has proposed a ban on future drive-thrus.
Perhaps you, like myself, are scoffing at the proposal, thinking it surely must be one person's silly overreaction, but it appears that Saskatoon isn't the only city with a Timmies problem. The issue was brought up at the national transportation engineering conference last year because traffic at Tim Hortons drive-thrus greatly exceeds that of any other fast-food joint in Canada, which is great for business but bad for public safety.
Frustrated motorists are dangerous motorists, and coffee-less, frustrated motorists are particularly precarious. They cut off cars, clog up traffic, make illegal turns, and block sidewalks, making it perilous for pedestrians and cyclists. It got so bad at one drive-thru in Alberta last month that one driver cut in line and pulled a gun on another patron who tried to stop him. Ok, sure, it turned out to be just a pellet gun, but nevertheless, the guy's message was loud and clear. Nothing was getting between him and his Timmies.
In Saskatoon, the councillor's suggested ban comes from the fact that the city has had to install a traffic barricade because eager patrons were making so many illegal turns and blocking a major intersection. I would agree with Saskatoon Councillor Pat Lorje in that the franchisees should pay for the traffic changes their establishments force the city to make. She says, "We spend megabucks on traffic modification and so forth to try to deal with the inordinate traffic created at certain times of day." But should the alternative really be a ban?
I don't think we should all be punished for the actions of a few, but at the same time, would it really be that bad if there weren't any drive-thrus? Are we that spoiled that we are unwilling to actually have to get out of our cars (gasp) and walk (double gasp) from our parking spots to the front door?
I can understand that people don't want to get out of their cars and brave the snowstorms and freezing winds that sometimes plague our country, but I know that I'd much rather go inside and order what I need to at the counter than wait twice or three times as long in the drive-thru line wasting not only my time but also my money.
You see, all that money I exhaust idling in the drive-thru line could be spent on other things. Idling for 10 minutes a day wastes about 102 litres of fuel a year, and with today's gas prices, that could buy me a lot of Timbits. Let it also be know that idling for just 10 seconds uses more fuel than restarting your engine, so it pays to park the car.
So while an all-out drive-thru ban seems unnecessary, a little frugality could go a long way.