I am convinced we discussed this within the last year or two, but all that I can find is this:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...alk-11400.html
The link Tasdrouille shared is gone and the Wayback Machine neglected to save a copy. Can we argue that actual evidence of the study no longer exists and we can dismiss it?
This is one of a few references that I can find:
http://codb.us/DocumentCenter/View/12193
According to references, Tim Horton hired a team to investigate how environmentally-friendly drive-throughs were, and then busied themselves refuting the results of that investigation.
Quote:
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A study released in May and conducted by [a company] on behalf of Tim Hortons parent company […] concluded that a Tim Hortons restaurant with no drive-through actually produced higher emissions per vehicle than one with a drive-through, because of emissions from starting up vehicles, traveling to and from parking spaces, and congestion that occurs in the parking lot.
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Orange4Boy pointed out that the comparison of two restaurants may have been apples and oranges and TDL Group Corp may have paid for several studies, but only published the favorable one.
They compared two restaurants and did not give any idea how they chose them. Could they have examined dozens of restaurants and chosen the two specific locations that gave the most favorable comparison?
I do not believe that there is any validity to claiming that drive-throughs reduce congestion. If the parking lot is so busy that people need to circle looking for a spot, wouldn't the drive-through also be full?
Anyway, on top of seeming like drive-throughs encourage pollution, apparently they are dangerous!
"The Bureau of Labor Statistics has found that workers in restaurants that had a drive-thru are twice as likely to be assaulted as workers at sit-down restaurants like Olive Garden or Red Lobster."
Fast-food crime: Why is there so much violent crime at fast-food restaurants?
I am not sure that statistic has any meaning, though, because they compare restaurants with drive-throughs with sit-down restaurants, not hundreds of McDonald's with drive-throughs and hundreds without.