Yes, Drive Thrus as in Fast Food and Pharmacy drive thrus. And it's no longer an idea, it's the new law. Of course, it doesn't effect existing drive-thrus, but new construction will not allow for drive thrus because they don't align with the future vision of the city (homicides and random shootings have also gone up as they cut police and their budgets, but maybe that's their vision...). As they've increased minimum wage, businesses have left Minneapolis by the dozens... it's all part of their vision. They've jacked up on-street parking permits to decrease driving, and new apartment buildings are going to start having no parking lots or underground parking spots available to discourage driving.
It's no joke that one of the top reasons why they pushed for this law is because drive thrus encourage driving, which as I've said, they don't want. Handicapped people showed up to those meetings on the new law saying that banning drive thrus would hurt their quality of life because they rely on them for easy access to places they normally would have trouble getting to. The elderly showed up and said in the winter, drive thrus helped them get their medications they need and banning them would have a negative effect on them. Remember folks, we are living in a city where it got down -54 degrees Fahrenheit last winter. City Council just told them they would have to adapt, not their problem.
The most telling thing in that City Pages article (which is usually very whiny, but hey, they awarded my store Best Grocery Store in the Twin Cities a few years back so I kinda love them), is this quote from a city planner:
“I’m sure there will be pushback,” senior city planner Mei-Ling Smith says. But she’s hopeful Minneapolis will see the benefits. She’s not aware of any other city making such an ambitious move.
She's not aware of any other city making such an ambitious move. Sounds like having the ability to say "We're the first to do this!!" is part of their motivation.