If so, read this. If not, sorry for the rant! Hope you are feeling healthy and sane…
As we have recognized the need for physical distancing as a weapon to fight COVID-19, we should revisit any prohibitions in Newton’s zoning/building code of drive-through sales operations. When MacDonald’s was rebuilt on Needham Street, I believe I heard that they were prohibited from deploying a drive-through window because such “conveniences” were antithetical to our zoning code. I would argue that that is no longer true. Many pharmacies that I have seen outside of Newton allow for such activity and the possibility of “no-contact prescription pick-up” would seem advisable under current circumstances. I remember dropping off dry cleaning at a window in my daughter’s hometown in Michigan and wondering why any parent would want to take two or three toddlers and a handful of dirty clothes into a dry-cleaning establishment. The temptation to leave the kids in a hot car is so great that we read about babies dying in the car while their mother just ran in somewhere for a minute. Wouldn’t this “convenience” now seem reasonable? I am not personally advocating for drive-through marijuana or Starbucks. Cities can regulate according to what the community wants and needs. But couldn’t we start with something reasonable like food and medicine pick-up, so that all of us could stay physically apart when we feel like we are coming down with any “bug”?
No. Delivery is a much more efficient method than driver through, and marginally less risky.
Congestion, pollution, and climate change are the same threats they were last year. They just taking a few months off in most people’s collective consciousness.
And yes, things will get back to something like normal. Asian countries that battled SARS still have crowded cities, still have subways. And they seem to be able to deal with this pandemic at least as well as we are.
It’s a long-term versus short-term problem. Drive-throughs increase air pollution which increases health risks, like heart disease and asthma. When I had 2 toddlers we lived in a walkable neighborhood and I took them everywhere – dry cleaner, grocery… It made life for a stay at home mom (me) a lot less lonely.
Based on preliminary U.S. data, persons with underlying health conditions such as diabetes mellitus, chronic lung disease, and cardiovascular disease, appear to be at higher risk for severe COVID-19–associated disease than persons without these conditions. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6913e2.htm
Drive-through windows are an opportunity to reduce idling. Idling for more than 10 seconds uses more fuel and creates more CO2 than turning off and restarting your engine.
https://afdc.energy.gov/files/u/publication/idling_personal_vehicles.pdf
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination each week. The guidelines also recommend that children and adolescents be active for at least 60 minutes every day. Following these guidelines can contribute to overall health, and decrease the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer or diabetes.
Walking is a great way to get the physical activity needed to obtain health benefits.
https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/walking/index.htm
I would still argue that Rx drive through would be a reasonable compromise, sequestering a lot of cold, flu and other common pestilence. Also, pass thru food operations could have sanitation codes requiring cleaning sprays between customers. Loudspeakers with customer numbers could call parked cars into the line when order is ready, reducing idling times.
I couldn’t agree more!
In theory, Newton could allow parking lots to be used for temporary drive-through-only structures to exist only during a state-of-emergency. This could be restricted for use by those companies that apply. You could use it as a food pickup point for several near-located restaurants (think of one in the Newton Centre parking lot or in Newtonville) or for pharmacy pickup.
I read the article in today’s Boston Globe about people idling in line for 45 minutes for a cup of coffee. I must say I am astounded. Did these people forget the recipe for boiling water, and then pouring it over ground coffee? Or frying a hamburger in a pan?
I’m not a big fan of drive-thrus. I’d rather not see them in Newton. But I do think that Sallee has a strong point when it comes to a drive-thru pharmacy. Prescription home delivery does not afford a patient direct access to a pharmacist. I could only see a drive thru pharmacy working if it were from a stand alone building on a large lot though. I can’t think of an existing Walgreens or CVS in Newton that would be suitable.
On the general subject of drive-thrus… I’ve always found the drive-thru ATM at Bank of America in Newton Centre to be a particularly precarious one for pedestrians. A lot of people cut through between Beacon and Union Streets. There is no defined walkway and a large bush puts pedestrians in conflict with cars using the ATM. It seems like a situation that could be remedied fairly easily, but it’s been like that for years.
Drive through pharmacies offer pretty horrible access to a pharmacist as well.
Pharmacy delivery combined with video pharmacy consultations would be far easier to implement than physically re-architecting all of our pharmacies. Video doctor’s visits have already replaced many of the non-COVID-19 appointments at Partners right now; there’s no reason to believe it can’t happen in pharmacies for those who prefer them.
If we are designing for a better future, let’s design in the things that have let us stay at home when we needed to, rather than drive even more than we do now.
While we’re at it, those drive-through gas stations are all over the city.
I want home delivery of my gas too 😉
@Jerry: this
I want virtual gas delivery to my house.
Oh, wait, that’s electricity.
Nonantum has a drive thru McDonalds.
Walgreens has curbside service – they will bring your pharmacy order to your car. Just call the pharmacy when you arrive – they’ll ask for your name and a description of your car.
@Hi Yuppie: I bet McDonalds in Nonantum was grandfathered in or got some special dispensation. It’s been around for a long time, but I forgot about it…Is it open for business for pick-up? We could all use some unhealthy but delicious French fries to keep us sane.
@Meredith: thanks for the Walgreens info. I’ve been disappointed with CVS’s not doing the same.
@Mike Halle: No need to “rearchitect” the pharmacies. The pharmacies I’ve seen with drive-through pick-ups are at the back of the store, with an ATM-like window at the back of the pharmacy part of the store. I would call it an adaptation…not a completely new design and I bet some stores, like CVS on Route 9 in Chestnut Hill or CVS on Route 9 at Eliot St. could be updated that way. Where there’s a will…
I have a vague memory from Newton Centre Task Force days that the zoning codes forbid food service drive-throughs in village centers but permit them in industrial and semi-industrial zones. I don’t remember what if anything the codes have to say about pharmacy drive-throughs, but at the moment those would certainly be preferable to making people with a possibly communicable illness have to enter through the front door of Walgreens and walk through the entire store to get to the prescription counter at the back. Someone would have to read the codes, though, to be sure.
We do not need drive ins. There are other options – courier services, if you don’t have friends, family, or neighbors who could pick up a prescription.
Obesity and air pollution both worsen Covid19:
WASHINGTON — Coronavirus patients in areas that had high levels of air pollution before the pandemic are more likely to die from the infection than patients in cleaner parts of the country, according to a new nationwide study that offers the first clear link between long-term exposure to pollution and Covid-19 death rates.
In an analysis of 3,080 counties in the United States, researchers at the Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that higher levels of the tiny, dangerous particles in air known as PM 2.5 were associated with higher death rates from the disease.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/07/climate/air-pollution-coronavirus-covid.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/groups-at-higher-risk.html
The Nonantum drive through is open for service.
The only protein my autistic kid will consistently eat is chicken nuggets. We’re down to 1-2 visits a week (some weekends we used to have 1-2 visits PER DAY. Mostly because we were trying to limit nugget intake, and so we’d have to back for more)
They’ve added an extra layer of plastic at the drive through windows to limit the opening to about 12” at the bottom (well below the employees faces)
Another reason to get into a car and drive = another bad idea.