Abstract:
All around Eugene there is parking lot structures that remain partially unoccupied for the vast majority of time. These parking lots have a major influence on the shape of a city and are in part responsible for the downfalls associated with car usage â environmental degradation, traffic congestion, traffic accidents, physical fitness, health, etc.
In the last twenty years, some lots have incorporated drive-thru coffee stores occupying some parking spots near the ingress/egress zone. The emergence of these stores has not been widely covered and there is scarce literature about this phenomenon. In the city of Eugene there are nearly twenty stores, with the most recent one opened in May, 2008.
This study examines the emergence of drive-thru coffees stores in Eugene and poses several questions to be answered: are drive-thru coffee stores evidence of an exaggerated off-street parking supply? Are these stores pioneers into a redevelopment process of converting parking lots into different structures with higher end uses? This paper tries to find answers for these questions from the perspectives of store managers, lot owners and city officials.