Month: June 2008

“There won’t be a ban,” Coun. Judy Bryant, the planning committee chair, said in response to leaflets urging Tim Hortons customers to fight against “banning drive-throughs in London.”

“It seems misleading to me. There is nothing in the recommendation that would indicate the city is planning on banning drive-throughs.”

But the group representing several fast-food restaurants dismissed that criticism, and attacked members of the committee who walked away from a unexpectedly large crowd of 200 that breached the council chamber’s fire code.

The London Free Press

…It is easy for these large chain restaurants to raise issues against the ban, but when it comes right down to it, it does affect the health of everyone! Just take the time out to watch, on a cool day, the vehicles idling 24/7, for the sake of a coffee/doughnut or some fast food!
POSTED BY: Dorothy Bere

It makes me wonder if perhaps a total ban on cars might be the goal here “we got by fine on horses and carts, why not go back to that?“

The best Letter on the Matter, almost the best Satire on the debate:

How about the traffic lights???? I frequent London DT’s on regular basis, and my experience is that daily I sit at traffic lights a lot longer than to get my coffee. The City, as a suggesion should put some effort at getting the ridiculously long lights such as, Highbury rd. to turn left on to Wilton Grove, that takes several minutes during the day and at least 10 min in the middle of the night; not only a waste of time but also a safety issue at night; also after the Malls in the city close, there is no traffic right, why do we still have to stop at red lights?…. City Hall Staff why don’t you take care of items that will improve traffic in London, instead of trying to make it worse…. Thanks for this oportunity.
POSTED BY: Patricia Ferreira

It always seems that whenever something is convenient, someone exploits it and someone wants it gone in the name of health or the environment (or terrorism or to fight pedophiles or the myriad other reasons).  The busybody nannies show up along with the “fuck the earth let’s make money” types in tow.  I think they all arrive in the same indignant-bus.  Each side takes up arms and marks their line in the sand and starts the mantra “The other side hates money/the earth/health” and they go at it.  Each side takes no real losses but hope to make gains in the future.  When the smoking ban came down I heard gloom and doom from the Bar Owners, but the bars seem to be just as full as they always were.  It seems that you don’t need a smoke to have a beer after all.  The smokers still smoke and recruit new smokers; so the people who needed to be “saved” are still at risk, but at least non-smokers don’t have to sit in the smoke anymore, right?

(BTW Hippies who smoke, suck.)

The same goes for bans on new Drive-Throughs.  The developers will eventually see that they can make more money from renting out huge lots of land as Parking (because the coffee addicts HAVE to get coffee in the AM) and they can snare more people into eating at their place because the customers have to see and smell the stuff when they walk in.  It’s a win for the nannies, because they get to say they put a stop to people idling in the drive through, forgetting that the worst of us will leave their car idling in the parking lot anyway.

In the end, both sides get their win and move on to some other cause.

I wish the abortion protesters would go away though.