Let's end the ban on people walking and biking for drive-thrus
note: this picture was taken prior to COVID19. Please wear a mask to protect yourself and others.
PRESS RELEASE 1/14/2021
In light of the current circumstances resulting from the COVID19 pandemic, many businesses are changing the way they conduct business, accordingly, and are relying more on drive-thrus. Many businesses have even pivoted to drive-thru service only. Such businesses include restaurants, banks and pharmacies. Most businesses with drive-thrus in East Baton Rouge parish will refuse service to those on foot, on a bike or those in wheelchairs. For businesses that use drive-thrus exclusively to conduct business, this is an outright ban on those not driving.
To try and gain access to essential services such as banking, food, medicine, and COVID testing, Bike Baton Rouge, a local bike advocacy nonprofit, has started an online petition asking Mayor Broome and the Metro Council to enact a short term ban on denying service to those not in a vehicle and to find a way to continue the policy in a post-COVID future.
"It was always frustrating and insulting not to be able to use drive-thrus," says Doug Moore, President of Bike Baton Rouge. "Prior to 2019, it was just inconvenient to have to go inside a bank or pharmacy or to not be able to get a late night bite to eat at Jack in the Box or something. But now, with many businesses offering drive-thru service only, it's downright discriminatory. This policy is especially hard on the poor, who make up the majority of people who walk and bike for transportation. "
CVS has recently expanded their COVID19 testing, but such tests are denied to anyone who arrives at their pharmacies on foot, on a bike or in a wheelchair. Walgreens has the same policy, stating on their website in the FAQ section: I don't drive. Can I walk in for a COVID-19 test? No, Walgreens is not equipped to perform walk-in testing. Patients must arrive in a vehicle..."
The petition has gained around 200 signatures so far and is expected to get many more. Some of the signers offered their explanations as to why this ban on service needs to be enacted:
Karen M. stated, "We are ALL in this together yet not allowing someone banking, pharmacy, etc because their only mode of transportation is on foot or biking could be crippling for them."
Richard E. signed because, "it’s absolutely insane to ban riders and walkers from drive thru’s, especially when indoor seating is shut down."
These policies are, in effect, a ban on those driving big trucks as well, as Carolyn N. pointed out, "Big trucks and people who don’t own a car have no way to get food, do their banking, etc during this pandemic when inside service is not an option."
Businesses claim this discriminatory policy is due to safety or liability concerns. "That's absurd, frankly," said Doug Moore. "If a car hits another car in a drive-thru, the driver is responsible, not the establishment. It would be no different were someone on a bike to be hit from behind in a drive-thru. It would be the driver's fault. Not to mention, the likelihood of serious injury is extremely low. People generally drive at 1 mph or less in a drive-thru. We're letting fear of some extremely unlikely, imagined hypothetical scenario justify a policy that denies people essential services....in the middle of a pandemic, no less. Absolutely absurd."
Click the button below to read and sign the petition.
If you wish to go a bit further, consider contacting the Mayor-President and/or the Metro Council.
