A driver pulls his Ford 150 off at an exit on I-94, and proceeds to cut across the parking lot of the newest sprawling mall development in Wisconsin. He then takes two spots in the Flingers parking lot, far enough from other cars to avoid door dings, but more importantly aimed perfectly for a quick exit. At Flingers he orders extreme fajitas, throws down a few bombs, be it the car bomb, Jaeger bomb, cherry bomb, and a couple that he’s convinced the bartender just made up.

Mo’s Irish Pub in Wauwatosa, WI intends to demolish two homes to create 48 new parking spots for their patrons. With the expanded parking lot Mo’s Irish Pub will have 179 parking spots, and although they do serve food it is likely that many of these spots are for pub patrons. Yup. One hundred seventy nine parking spots for a pub.

Fifth offense. Right now that’s when a drunk driving conviction in Wisconsin becomes a felony. Lower it to the fourth, third, second, or first, because clearly the fifth offense is way too many, but there’s more to the drunk driving problem than how many times someone has to be caught before it becomes a felony. Further, this problem isn’t because some bartenders play a game of dice with customers, have a round with regulars, or have a drink at the end of the night.

St. Patrick’s Day is always one of my favorite days of the year, though often the day after is one of my least favorite, because everybody comes out and has a good time. It seems as if Milwaukee comes out of hibernation on this day, and the streets are bustling with people. But it also reminds me that everyday somebody says “I think I can drive.” I don’t need the news to tell me that people jumped in their cars on St. Patrick’s Day who had no business driving, I’m sure some did.

As a society we say “don’t drink and drive” but in this case actions speak louder than words. Zoning and land use policies have an impact on the built environment that often promotes driving and limits other transportation options. These regulations to some extent mandate how we get home from work and unfortunately how we get from the tavern, home.