A large planned renovation to a restaurant franchise in town has one city councillor raising the issue of drive-thru windows in the community.
Terrace city council looked over a development permit from McDonald's, which is getting ready for extensive renovations to the interior, exterior and landscaping of the restaurant on Lakelse Ave. Renovations will include new tables and chairs, a roof, and fireplace, amongst others.
During a meeting last night at city hall, city councillor Bruce Martindale said that while he approved of the facade and interior work, he is concerned about the drive thru.
“There's a lot of communities that have actually outright banned drive thrus,” he said. “And at the very least....encouraged people to not drive through.”
He wondered if there was anything the city could do to decrease drive through traffic and subsequent idling in town, and encourage people to park their car and walk into the restaurant instead.
No policy suggestions came out of Martindale's comments, and council approved the development permit.
The city adopted an idle-free policy in August 2009, which declared all city facilities idle-free zones and applies to contractors working at city facilities or any member of the public operating a vehicle at a city facility.
This came after the city signed on to the BC Climate Action Charter, committing to decreasing emissions and being carbon neutral by 2012.
“Idle-free zone” signs are found at the old bridge, parking lots, and some businesses around town.