The restoration of drive-thrus as a potential aspect of future developments in the district is a welcome return to common sense.
While the intentions behind the original drive-thru ban in the district were noble, they were most assuredly premature.
We think everybody can sympathize with the goals of the environmental and health movement to get people out of their cars, stimulate walking and shopping, and rely less on the automobile and its associative evils that come from the internal combustion engine.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with wanting to reduce air pollution, reduce the emissions believed to be responsible for global climate change, and reduce the waistlines of people who will most assuredly be fighting the battle of the bulge the longer they sit in traffic.
Having said that, Mission isn’t yet a car-free community. Far from it.
In fact, in a ranking of 190 municipalities nationwide, the magazine MoneySense put the Census Metropolitian area of Abbotsford-Mission 172nd in a residents’ ability to walk/bike to work.
Let’s face it, our district is scattered along a provincial highway, for the most part, where our drive-thrus are located.
The legislation that would allow drive-thrus in future developments note that they should be considered only “where auto-oriented land uses are prevalent.”
And that makes sense for people who aren’t likely to walk along portions of Lougheed without sidewalks.Perhaps one day Mission will have the walking and transit options, and drive-thrus won’t be necessary.
But that day isn’t today.