DATE: Tuesday, May 20, 1997                 TAG: 9705200206

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MEREDITH COHN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   76 lines

IN CHESAPEAKE, DRIVE-THROUGHS MEAN BIG BUSINESS

``ssss. . . Welcome to Taco Bell. . . May I take your order?. . . ssss''

In the suburbs, everyone knows the routine at the fast-food drive-through. Drive-through banks also have worked their way into our four-wheeled world. And increasingly, as the fastest-growing city in Virginia adds households, the service businesses that follow them come with drive-through windows. Chesapeake now has a drive-through dry cleaner, pharmacy and Department of Motor Vehicles office.

Since 1993, when the city Inspections Department began keeping records on the subject, 55 new drive-through businesses have opened. The number reflects only those that are within 500 feet of a residential neighborhood because businesses need a permit for those. City officials cannot determine from their records how many other drive-throughs have opened.

The dozens of new drive-throughs, primarily fast-food restaurants, represent just a small portion of new Chesapeake businesses - there were 72,682 business licenses issued from the beginning of 1993 to the end of March. But they are popular, say city planners, business owners and the drivers because, as motorist Charity Brown puts it, ``Some people are lazy.''

The latest plan in the city for a drive-through comes from the state Department of Motor Vehicles, which received the city Planning Commission's unanimous support Wednesday for its second window. The City Council is expected to vote on it today.

``We try and incorporate them into as many offices as we can, primarily to handle decal renewal and other quick transactions,'' said Jeannie Chenault, a spokeswoman for the DMV. ``They have cut down on lines inside.''

According to the American Planning Association, however, customer convenience has come with a price. Some communities have begun limiting drive-throughs because of pollution, traffic, and architectural and noise problems.

Brent R. Nielson, director of the city Planning Department, said he does not believe Chesapeake's air quality has worsened because of idling cars. The city also requires that enough space be allocated for automobiles waiting in line to prevent traffic back-ups into the streets. And to accommodate residents' concerns, the city at times has required businesses to add a buffer of bushes or to move drive-through windows and speakers out of view and earshot of homes.

Nielson said he doesn't recall a drive-through permit ever being denied to a business, but added he believes residents don't object.

``There are few places around the country that people aren't dependent on cars,'' Nielson said. ``We're dependent on cars for shopping, working and recreation. In Chesapeake, it's the same situation. We drive to shopping; we drive to work; and we drive to recreation.''

The latest trend is drive-through windows at pharmacies, he said. Records kept by the Inspections Department show that a half-dozen drug stores have added windows in the past three years.

Linwood Johnson, manager of Lawrence Pharmacy on George Washington Highway, said the shop added a window for prescription pick-up to stay competitive with chain drug stores such as Revco and Rite-Aid, which have drive-throughs at several locations in the city.

``Mothers used to pull up in front of the door and run in for things and ask us to keep an eye on their kids, and we did it,'' Johnson said. ``The window is good for mothers who don't want to leave their kids in the car, handicapped people and people who don't want to get out of the car in the rain.''

Johnson estimates that about 10 percent of his customers now use the window.

Several people polled recently at local fast-food restaurants said they don't believe they get faster service at drive-throughs, but they prefer them anyway. They cited laziness, convenience, lack of time, their children, feeling anti-social, and a city that isn't friendly to pedestrians.

Rosemary Larkin, who pulled through a Wendy's drive-through and into a parking space to eat, said lunch for her is about having her space.

``I stay in the car; it's my comfort zone,'' she said. ``I'm a smoker and I enjoy reading. The car is more conducive to my comfort. It's better than being in there with the strangers and the noise.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

LAWRENCE JACKSON, The Virginian-Pilot

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