The city of San Luis Obispo enacted a drive-thru ban in the 80’s which has been enforced since then. The reasoning provided, or what can be found of that reasoning, is that it was a way to make San Luis Obispo a more walkable city, it could reduce pollution, and it would minimize the number of cars from college students in the city. Though these sound like promising goals, the city has failed to follow up with any supportive measures that would make these reasonings valid. To start, the city of San Luis Obispo has not built any infrastructure that supports their claim of being a walkable city. Downtown slo is packed with cars with the exception of Thursday nights when the city closes Higuera Street for our famous Farmer’s Market. If the city truly wanted to be walkable, they would have made stores and restaurants more easily accessible and not in a way that requires a 5-10 minute drive regardless of where you want to go. 

Additionally, although researchers cite a reduction in carbon emissions, the National Restaurant Association noted that only 25% of restaurant visits in the United States occur in a drive thru. Though this may strike you as a reason to not care enough about the drive thru ban in Slo, it is imperative that we take a look at who is using these services. Sure, many people simply do not want to get out of their vehicles to order their burger and fries, but the cost of banning drive-thrus city-wide falls disproportionately on the elderly and the disabled members of our community. This was especially noted during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when many immunocompromised individuals were afraid of going out to get their food out of a fear of potentially contracting the virus which proved to be deadly for many. 

Finally, there has been no empirical evidence to support the finding that not allowing drive-thru restaurants has reduced the number of cars from those who attend Cal Poly or Cuesta College. My proposed solution is not to simply unban drive-thrus throughout the city. I believe there are certain areas, like downtown Slo, which benefit from the decreased use of cars, but rather that the city take another look at their zoning code and allow certain areas, particularly those on the outskirts of Slo, to add drive-thru services to their restaurants.