Drive Thrus

Drive-thrus encourage vehicle idling, creating air pollution hotspots. In response, cities across the country are banning drive-thrus, or limiting new construction.

In addition to increasing air pollution, drive-thrus cause congestion and are associated with higher incidents of collisions with other cars, bicyclists and pedestrians. Drive-thrus are also antithetical to community-oriented, walkable cities. For all of these reasons, consider updating zoning codes to prohibit or limit drive-thrus.

Salt Lake City

To reduce traffic and promote walkability in the Sugar Bush neighborhood, the SLC city council banned drive-thrus.

Minneapolis

In 2019, the Minneapolis city council amended several sections of the zoning code to prohibit new drive-thrus.

Others

Drive-thru ordinances have been passed in a variety of other neighborhoods and cities across the U.S.