East coast city floats drive-thru ban proposal
theweathernetwork.com
Tuesday, October 16, 2018, 5:40 PM - If ever there was a poster child of convenience, of sorts, it's the fast-food drive-thru. Now, Atlantic Canada's largest city is taking a look at banning the building of new ones in the city.
The Halifax Regional Municipality's environment and sustainability standing committee voted earlier this month to ask city staff to look into how feasible it would be to ban drive-thrus. That doesn't mean that they city is bound to do it just yet, nor does it mean city council must follow any recommendations that do eventually come forward, but the move raised a few eyebrows.
If an eventual ban on new drive-thrus is enacted, it would build upon an existing 2012 ban that barred new ones from the city's downtown, according to HRM spokesman Nick Ritcey.
"So you'll notice there's a couple around that were built before 2012 but now, since then, you're not allowed to build or add on to one," Ritcey told Weather Network reporter Nathan Coleman. "So I think it's important to know that if something like this were to happen, it wouldn't mean that all of the drive-thrus that currently exist would be eliminated, it just would mean that you can't build any new ones."
The ban is being floated mostly with the aim of cutting down on emissions from idling and with a view to city walkability, but as Coleman found, it's receiving a tepid reaction among some residents. Watch the full report above.
