Drive-through services are once again a big issue in the Snoqualmie Valley, as the city of Snoqualmie prepares for a new retail development and full-service grocery store on Snoqualmie Ridge. Four drive-throughs are planned, maybe five and, as with any change, there are people who think that’s a great idea and others who think it’s the worst idea to come out of City Hall since the last one.
I’m in the middle. I don’t have mixed feelings about drive-throughs, I’m indifferent. I’ve used them, I’ve avoided them, and I’ve puzzled over why they bring out such strong feelings in both sides.
There are two phrases that echo through every drive-through debate, and you can probably say them with me: On the pro side, “convenience” is the rallying cry — drive-throughs save time, which is arguably our most precious resource; on the con side, it’s “rural character” and its imminent demise from over-development.
Convenience, though, isn’t good enough. Not having to park when I’m in a hurry is nice, but discovering I got the wrong order and having to go back to the store is definitely not an improvement to the day, since I was in a hurry in the first place. And rural character is vague. It’s one of those “we know it when we see it,” concepts, that doesn’t fit into a blueprint or a profit-and-loss statement. Pedestrian- and bicycle-friendliness are elements in most city plans aiming to preserve rural character, but on a recent weekend in downtown Seattle, I saw more people walking and cycling in a block than I see in the Valley all week.
What I didn’t see in Seattle, but I see every day here at home, were dogs in cars. Dogs bouncing from window to window in the back seat, dogs in laps and dogs in the driver’s seat waiting in parking lots.
Dogs love drive-throughs, because they usually produce treats. The magical windows my dogs knew about dispensed food, whether we drove or walked through, so they trained me to use the drive-through.
Drive-throughs aren’t perfect. I’ll probably never love them, but as long as there’s another way for me to get things done, I’m willing to let other people, and their dogs, have them.
