A ban on drive-thru's
So there's this guy on the Madison Planning Commission who wants to ban drive thru's in Madison. Here's a link to the article: http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/293356. I decided to send a letter to the editor. Here's what I wrote:
From: ME
To: Wisconsin State Journal Editor
Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 10:32 PM
Subject: Letter to the editor
I would like to share my opinion on the article about Eric Sundquit of the Madison Plan Commission and his idea to ban drive thru's in Madison.
Ban drive-thru's? Are you nuts? Sure an idling car creates pollution, so do the cows at the ag department at the UW. What's the difference between a car sitting at a drive-thru and a car sitting on the Beltline? I fail to see how this is so important. I understand that Madison is trying to be a "green" community, and that's a good thing. We should all do our part to preserve our fragile planate for future generations. But getting rid of drive-thru's? Give me a break. Say we do get rid of the drive-thru. Instead of people sitting with their car engines idling at the window, they'll be idling in the parking lot waiting for a spot to open up (meanwhile there are a few dozen cars sitting at a stop light, or at a bank window, or on the Beltline doing the same thing). Well, we can't have those cars just sitting there running. Let's build a bigger parking lot! That would be a great idea. Let's rip out some trees, clear some green space, and put down a nice asphalt parking lot. While that parking lot is being poured, toxic fumes are being released into the atmosphere, and we're building a new place for the sun to warm up and generate more heat on the surface of the earth (note: all this time, there are cars at stop lights and sitting in traffic jams). If we really want to stop cars from sitting and idling, why don't we just ban cars in the city of Madison all together and mandate that everyone has to ride a bike. After all, aren't we supposed to be one of the best cities in the country for bike riding? Madison politics, yet another reason why I moved out.
Rob Greenhalgh
Barneveld WI
From: ME
To: Wisconsin State Journal Editor
Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 10:32 PM
Subject: Letter to the editor
I would like to share my opinion on the article about Eric Sundquit of the Madison Plan Commission and his idea to ban drive thru's in Madison.
Ban drive-thru's? Are you nuts? Sure an idling car creates pollution, so do the cows at the ag department at the UW. What's the difference between a car sitting at a drive-thru and a car sitting on the Beltline? I fail to see how this is so important. I understand that Madison is trying to be a "green" community, and that's a good thing. We should all do our part to preserve our fragile planate for future generations. But getting rid of drive-thru's? Give me a break. Say we do get rid of the drive-thru. Instead of people sitting with their car engines idling at the window, they'll be idling in the parking lot waiting for a spot to open up (meanwhile there are a few dozen cars sitting at a stop light, or at a bank window, or on the Beltline doing the same thing). Well, we can't have those cars just sitting there running. Let's build a bigger parking lot! That would be a great idea. Let's rip out some trees, clear some green space, and put down a nice asphalt parking lot. While that parking lot is being poured, toxic fumes are being released into the atmosphere, and we're building a new place for the sun to warm up and generate more heat on the surface of the earth (note: all this time, there are cars at stop lights and sitting in traffic jams). If we really want to stop cars from sitting and idling, why don't we just ban cars in the city of Madison all together and mandate that everyone has to ride a bike. After all, aren't we supposed to be one of the best cities in the country for bike riding? Madison politics, yet another reason why I moved out.
Rob Greenhalgh
Barneveld WI