Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Downtown
So sick old people can stop by and pick up medicine? So moms with kids in the SUV can stop on the way home from soccer to get milk? It's not for the employees. It's—gasp—to attract customers.
The neighborhood around Kimball Terminal is primarily single-family homes (some small apartment buildings) and their residents have children and busy lives. They also conduct many daily activities by automobile. Not everyone in every city neighborhood is a 27-year-old coder on his way to the Mart.
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Oh please. Not everyone lives out of their car and Walgreen's does understand that, otherwise they would incorporate parking and drive throughs into every location; but obviously they don't. Its a given the customer base here is going to arrive by train and bus considering the huge transit terminal across the street; and as others have said, this neighborhood has many multi-unit buildings with car-free residents, SFH is not the primary housing type here, but rather flats, courtyards and corner buildings. I have 2 friends for example who live car-free in a condo a few blocks away, one of which rides a bike to the Metra station for a reverse commute to the suburbs.
There is not a need for a parking lot here, plain and simple. Its only 17 spaces as well, so clearly Walgreen's doesn't believe the need is that great either. Without the curb cut, there would be at least 2 spaces on the street which could perhaps be tagged as a 15 minute loading zone for the sick old ladies you speak of, plus there could be a few spaces off the alley while pulling the store to the corner. The problem is there isn't any imagination to fit this store and many others into the urban fabric. We all know creativity exists within the company, but its only selectively applied.