Here is an enjoyably trivial topic for us Kossacks to speculate about. The McDonald's in Rochester, NH (about iles from my hometown of Durham, NH) is ostensibly about to be downsized, according to a March 19 article in the Dover, NH Foster's Daily Democrat headlined "Rochester McDonald's may downsize eatery." It is not really being downsized: the new building will be 4000 square feet (down from the current 5,500 feet of the original store, which was built in the 1960s or 1970s.) BUT, the drive-through is being expanded: there will be two ordering lanes (although they will funnel into a single payment and pickup lane). And there is an interesting wrinkle...
McDonald's will be adding an additional lane downstream of the pickup window ("the second window," as it is usually referred to.) This will enable motorists to loop back around and park their cars in the parking lot so they can eat their meals in their cars. Currently, to do this you have to drive out onto a busy street and make a U turn. I am fine with this... but I am wondering about something. Here is the quote from the article:
When the renovations are complete, the restaurant will feature a side-by-side menu ordering system, which provides for two drive-thru order stations that will converge into one pickup lane, said Engineer John Kucich. McDonald's has told the Planning Board they are experienced with this arrangement and orders will still be released one at a time, according to Planning Board documents.
The plan is also to retain the current circulation pattern for drive-thru traffic while also providing a lane that will allow customers to travel from the drive-thru lane back into the parking lot without having to enter traffic on Wakefield Street. Kucich told the board many customers, after receiving their food at the pickup window, would like to return to the parking lot to eat it and the recirculation lane would more easily allow for that.
I am sure McDonald's knows its market and I am sure their consultant Mr Kucich knows what he is talking about. I can even understand why folks might prefer to sit in their cars rather than at a little table in an ugly fast food hut, although I personally think sitting in the restaurant for a few minutes is more fun than sitting in the car. BUT what I am wondering is: why the hell can't you simply park in the parking lot, walk into the store, place your order at the counter, and then carry your food back out to your cars? Why do you have to go through the drive-through if you are not planning to eat offsite? Something about this plan deeply depresses me... I think this is a sign of something fundamentally wrong with our society... though I am not sure exactly what that is.