St. Paul city planners are considering further restrictions on fast food drive-thrus, which critics say make neighborhoods more hostile to pedestrians and cyclists.

A city study released for public comment in March drew a wide range of reactions. Proposed zoning amendments would limit where future drive-thrus can be installed while also heightening design standards.

Among the questions pitched to the public: Should St. Paul prohibit future fast food drive-thrus altogether? Or perhaps the city could just ban them downtown and in mixed housing and retail “T2 traditional neighborhood” zoning districts, with the goal of promoting walking over driving in mixed-use areas.

Those options, still being considered by the St. Paul Planning Commission, are opposed by the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce and Hospitality Minnesota, the state’s lodging and restaurant association, as well as individual restaurant owners. During a June 7 hearing before the Planning Commission, a representative of Border Foods, which operates almost every Taco Bell in the state, said drive-thrus account for up to 80% of their business.

Some retailers say that given crime and safety concerns, the alternative to a late-night or all-night drive-thru isn’t a more pedestrian-friendly, walk-in experience — it’s to add parking and close their fast-food eatery earlier.

They also recalled that drive-thrus were integral to surviving the coronavirus pandemic, when the state imposed restrictions on on-site dining.

“The reason I’m sitting here today and still in business is because of the carry-out business I had,” said Eddie Sharif, a proprietor of Burger Moe’s on West Seventh Street, addressing the Planning Commission.

In order to encourage business growth, real estate attorney Brian Alton said, “just like we’ve done with housing choices, we should be less restrictive, not more restrictive.”

St. Paul already limits new drive-thrus by requiring eateries in most zoning districts to seek city approval, through a conditional use permit.

Bill Lindeke, a former planning commissioner, said what makes retail areas like Snelling-Selby and Grand Avenue distinct from the suburbs is pedestrian access between bakeries, coffee shops and other retailers. Once a drive-thru business is installed, it bisects pedestrian foot traffic, he said.

“It almost becomes an island,” he said, recalling a drive-thru that created infamous traffic backups from a Selby Avenue Starbucks into the busy intersection at Snelling Avenue. Former Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch required wrist surgery in October 2019 after getting hit by an SUV outside the location. After years of controversies, the drive-thru was replaced with a patio.

Some business advocates argue drive-thrus benefit the disabled, as well as parents with small children and others with mobility challenges. Lindeke argues just the opposite. “Drive-thru curb cuts, once cars start going over the sidewalks with snow and ice, it’s almost impossible to get the ice off the sidewalk,” he said. “It becomes the slipperiest part of anyone’s trek.”

Planning Commissioner Simon Taghioff echoed that sentiment. “I am a young parent,” he said. “I often hear in these debates young parents co-opted into this assumption that we can’t walk. … In Manhattan, they seem to have a bunch of Taco Bells and other fast food joints. And none of them have drive-thrus. I wonder how those operate?”

Minneapolis in 2019 banned new drive-thrus, calling them unfriendly to pedestrians and the environment.

St. Paul officials counted 77 drive-thrus in the city, mainly at restaurants and banks but also several pharmacies and two coffee shops.

The Planning Commission is likely to revisit the drive-thru zoning study this summer before the issue goes before the St. Paul City Council around August.

Related Articles

Business People: Xcel Energy fills key compliance position

Real World Economics: The social Darwinism of climate change

Stores are more subdued in observing Pride Month. Some LGBTQ+ people see a silver lining in that

St. Paul family-run locksmith looks back on 100 years in business

Working Strategies: Next steps for ‘non-trad’ grads