I found the same situation in Rutland, Vermont, walking from a car dealer to Panera Bread on Main St. The driveway and drive-through completely encircle the building. I had to walk along and between cars at the drive-through to get back to the municipal sidewalk. It was quite striking.
I hadn't thought about this. As a walker and bus rider, I'm simply accustomed to walking a quarter mile through the narrow lanes parking lot and dodging cars.
Older stores were directly on the street, but car-centric people didn't appreciate this. My mother was purely car-centered. She never walked anywhere, always drove. She lived right across the street from Roy's, an old-fashioned human-friendly grocery store. When I visited there l just walked out the front door of the house, crossed the street, and walked directly into Roy's. My mother couldn't imagine doing that. Instead, she walked to the garage, started the car, backed out of the narrow driveway, pulled a T-turn in the street, and pulled into the front parking of Roy's.
I can see how this is bad design and I can see how it's car-centric, but I don't see how it's bad design *because* it's car-centric. Presumably most of the patrons who are strolling through the drive-through lane are *themselves* coming from their cars. (You are standing in the parking lot, correct? Or is the parking lot behind the building?) This is not a location that looks like it gets a whole lot of foot traffic. We're not looking at a Popeyes in Paris here. So it would have been architectural malpractice to build a fast-food joint in this location that was *not* car-centric. The only issue is that the drive-through lane is in between the parking lot and the front door. But that's not an issue at all. Most every parking lot is going to have you walk through lanes for car passage in between getting out of your car and walking through the front door. I'm struggling to see what's unique about this one? Perhaps it just could have used some painted crosswalk stripes?
Yes, the bad design of the Popeye's is part and parcel of being car-centric. "We're not looking at a Popeye's in Paris here" is a self-fulfilling prophesy. The crap environment is a choice, and that choice was a design to serve people using the drive-through.
No, it was a choice to serve people using both the drive-through and the parking lot, because that's how people are getting to this place.
Your idea of building a Popeyes with no car access in the middle of the suburbs is not going to transform the suburbs into Paris. It's just going to transform the Popeyes into an abandoned building. I'd wish you nothing but the best building a mini-Paris in Virginia, but it's not going to start with a Popeyes.
And there's the rub, design is always going to be centered on something. And for biz like fast food, that's the car.
If the author is referring to the new Popeye's on Lee Highway in Fairfax, the crosswalks / pedestrian right of way / sidewalks are all clearly marked. It may have a side door that opens to the drive thru w/ no warning and no crosswalk. That's not ideal.
Not to be rude but it's funny that you invoke Chuck. He regularly gets the basics wrong. In this case you pull a Chuck. There's a sidewalk that you can walk all the way into that Lidl.
The wild card in this frothy, topical gabble is America's love affair with the truck. Roads, parking lots, and takeout must accommodate these powerful, sexy extended-cab carriages. The modern pickup truck is a gorgeous piece of architectonics. Some would say "vulgar," but to their many votaries, they are gleaming works of machine art. Have you taken your ride?
I found the same situation in Rutland, Vermont, walking from a car dealer to Panera Bread on Main St. The driveway and drive-through completely encircle the building. I had to walk along and between cars at the drive-through to get back to the municipal sidewalk. It was quite striking.
I hadn't thought about this. As a walker and bus rider, I'm simply accustomed to walking a quarter mile through the narrow lanes parking lot and dodging cars.
Older stores were directly on the street, but car-centric people didn't appreciate this. My mother was purely car-centered. She never walked anywhere, always drove. She lived right across the street from Roy's, an old-fashioned human-friendly grocery store. When I visited there l just walked out the front door of the house, crossed the street, and walked directly into Roy's. My mother couldn't imagine doing that. Instead, she walked to the garage, started the car, backed out of the narrow driveway, pulled a T-turn in the street, and pulled into the front parking of Roy's.
I can see how this is bad design and I can see how it's car-centric, but I don't see how it's bad design *because* it's car-centric. Presumably most of the patrons who are strolling through the drive-through lane are *themselves* coming from their cars. (You are standing in the parking lot, correct? Or is the parking lot behind the building?) This is not a location that looks like it gets a whole lot of foot traffic. We're not looking at a Popeyes in Paris here. So it would have been architectural malpractice to build a fast-food joint in this location that was *not* car-centric. The only issue is that the drive-through lane is in between the parking lot and the front door. But that's not an issue at all. Most every parking lot is going to have you walk through lanes for car passage in between getting out of your car and walking through the front door. I'm struggling to see what's unique about this one? Perhaps it just could have used some painted crosswalk stripes?
Yes, the bad design of the Popeye's is part and parcel of being car-centric. "We're not looking at a Popeye's in Paris here" is a self-fulfilling prophesy. The crap environment is a choice, and that choice was a design to serve people using the drive-through.
No, it was a choice to serve people using both the drive-through and the parking lot, because that's how people are getting to this place.
Your idea of building a Popeyes with no car access in the middle of the suburbs is not going to transform the suburbs into Paris. It's just going to transform the Popeyes into an abandoned building. I'd wish you nothing but the best building a mini-Paris in Virginia, but it's not going to start with a Popeyes.
Non-sense. False dilemmas. Bad faith. You offer the whole package in your comment. May you enjoy your bubble.
bubble? Wow. Classic case of pot calling the kettle black, mate. It's a fast food biz in suburbia.
And there's the rub, design is always going to be centered on something. And for biz like fast food, that's the car.
If the author is referring to the new Popeye's on Lee Highway in Fairfax, the crosswalks / pedestrian right of way / sidewalks are all clearly marked. It may have a side door that opens to the drive thru w/ no warning and no crosswalk. That's not ideal.
But ya, what's the real problem here?
Not to be rude but it's funny that you invoke Chuck. He regularly gets the basics wrong. In this case you pull a Chuck. There's a sidewalk that you can walk all the way into that Lidl.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/8zNN6okmFBJZW7ZB9
The wild card in this frothy, topical gabble is America's love affair with the truck. Roads, parking lots, and takeout must accommodate these powerful, sexy extended-cab carriages. The modern pickup truck is a gorgeous piece of architectonics. Some would say "vulgar," but to their many votaries, they are gleaming works of machine art. Have you taken your ride?