Must anything and everything coddle to the car? The local library branch has a book return deposit box that is specifically designed and located for those who refuse or don’t care to extricate themselves from their car. And people wonder why there is an obesity crisis in this nation.
Aside from drive-thru windows at fast-food restaurants, they can be found at coffee shops, dry cleaners, financial institutions, ice cream shops, hotels, pharmacies, gas stations, and innumerable other places. I wouldn’t be surprised to see drive-thru confessionals some day at the rate we are going.
Don’t get me wrong, I like a nicely designed car just as much as the next person. But, they should not be the driving force (bad pun) in every aspect of our lives.
Parking lots are too often designed to optimize car movement – pedestrians, landscaping, and cyclists be damned. One local shopping center that provides bike parking has signage very close by prohibiting bicycle usage on the sidewalks. Are bikes wanted here or not?
All this begs the question, if business paid as much attention to their customers who walk, bike, or ride transit, would they see a corresponding increase in business. My guess is yes. Believe it or not, I actually had a co-worker once ask if the bank would serve me on my bike at the drive-thru window. They did, but just the inquiry made me think about how far askew the over dependence on cars can go.
Me…I park away from the business entrance, so I can get some limited exercise walking to the store; I bicycle frequently for work and for errands; and I try to walk, bike, or take transit whenever possible to reduce my reliance on the automobile. It’s my little way of combating climate change and staying healthy at the same time. I am heartened by the increased numbers of cyclists and walkers that I see, though they still sadly pale in comparison to those cocooned in their motorized eggs.
Rick Brown
