Reports at March 19 Council included a couple initiatives which are entirely consistent with our draft sustainability plan. i) The draft subdivision for King Station is approved and it includes installation of LED street lighting. ii) Secondly a report was tabled outlining process for developing a King policy for drive- through facilities.
This will be our first street lighting in a subdivision which is both LED and dark sky compliant. LED will deliver significant ongoing operational and maintenance cost savings to King of minimum 50%. Dark sky lighting is the way to reduce light pollution. Compared to traditional fixtures this lighting costs about 4X and is being borne by the developer. This design feature needs to become our standard.
Drive-throughs are despised by many and, as evident by the long queues at some, loved by many. Personally I am in the former camp; my rationale includes the pollution emitted, the negative impact on the streetscape in terms of pedestrian traffic etc.
But as has been demonstrated many times in many municipalities, just saying “no” is not effective. More effective is defining the acceptable areas for drive throughs, establish design criteria. Staff has presented a plan for reviewing our options. You can read it here. I have asked for consideration of another tactic: a special tax linked to traffic through the drive through with revenues allocated specifically to a sustainability fund. My thinking being that most of the negative consequences of a drive through can be mitigated by location restrictions and design criteria; but there is no way to mitigate the air pollution. The tax would be the mitigation.
For anyone looking for examples of an integrated sustainability these are two excellent ones. The lighting one addresses socio cultural, financial and environmental concerns. The policy for drive- throughs being considered will cover all three (socio cultural, financial and environmental) plus economic concerns.
Debbie, when it comes to drive-throughs I share your sentiments. However, I believe there are times when saying “no” is important and wise in the best interests of the community and the people who live here. What I’m thinking, is that a drive-through has very limited benefits for the immediate community and will contribute to several significant concerns and problems. The environmental concerns are clear – climate change, air quality, community health, litter, waste, …. and then the significant concern of traffic and safety by a fairly major intersection with pedestrians, cyclists and traffic congestion. I understand that several municipalities in Ontario have moved to ban drive-throughs. We need commercial enterprises that will clearly contribute to a healthy, safe and walkable community, reduce carbon emissions and harmful pollutants, and support true sustainable efforts. I believe it is time to turn the page on drive-throughs. Society has done this on other issues of concern. We can do this on drive-throughs too. A restaurant and patio without a drive through can effectively draw community together and provide a safer and healthier environment with far less waste and support the goals of sustainability.
As we are in process of developing new Official Plan we need to incorporate this thinking into it.