The Video Store, Now in the Parking Lot
In the years that we’ve had video we’ve had video stores. Traditionally these have been brick & mortar stores. As I pointed out in November, local video stores are closing. With rentals from places like Netflix and iTunes who needs to drive to a store.
Companies like Redbox are bringing small video distribution machines to local stores like Shop-N-Save and McDonalds. In other parts of the country these have been placed outdoors.
Above is probably the only video rental place in the small town of Mt. Vernon, MO. The sad part is that it isn’t a place at all.
These are also located in Oklahoma City and likely in every city that doesn’t ban outdoor vending machines.
Above: Redbox rental outside a new McDonalds in suburban Oklahoma City. As this is an entirely new facility they could have found room indoors —the decision to place it outdoors was on purpose. On the plus side this offers the consumer access at times other than when the McDonalds is open.
My fear is that we replaced our main streets at first with suburban strip centers and drive-thrus. Now we are seeing the strip mall fail with walk-up kiosks in parking lots replacing full stores.
Above is the new main street of suburbia.
While the Redbox kiosk is convenient, it fails to help create any sort of meaningful space on the par with a good walkable commercial district. Our cars help isolate us from these dreary spaces — who’d want to walk here?
So the question is should municipalities ban exterior vending machines like soda machines or video rental machines? Should they only be allowed when built-in like a walk-up bank ATM? Should their number be limited based on some sort of formula. Are these visual clutter or just a fact of modern life? I personally think they are clutter and I don’t like seeing a Coke machine outside a store. Still I am reluctant to advocate a total ban except as part of a new urban form-based zoning code. However, allowing this to continue is only going to further denigrate our public & private spaces.
Its called the 21st century. I think its the greatest thing since magnetized tape cassettes. Also I didn’t walk to the end of my driveway to get the news paper to read your blog post. I sat at home half naked in the bathroom reading it. Public places are for everyone. Your jsut one voce. I’m another and I say bring it on. Japan has no problems selling used pantys and hot coffee in cans alongside beer in vending machines. Before you think I missed your point I didn’t. I just want ot say I’m adding to your thoguht from an opposite opinion.
Steve, I just think we have bigger fish to fry and I do not mean Filet-o-Fish. Big city streetscapes sell everything at vending stands from newspapers to hotdogs. I am not crazy about the visual here either, but they are not exactly ruining the view. Now, if they start putting these Red Roof Video stores up on every street corner with or without a restaurant location, then I will jump on the bandwagon. For now I will try and stay focused on the next new strip mall STL has approved to build without enough viable tenants to fill it.
You’re right, Red Box prefers to be outside, but it’s up to the local jurisdiction to say yes or no.
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When I was on the RTD board in Denver, we had a proposal to put something similar in the transit district’s park-and-ride lots. Seemed like a plausible idea, but it never got off the ground.
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Compared to Netflix, this at least gets people out of their houses. And likes banks and ATM’s, they will never be the only or predominant answer. Personally, like video stores, I think they will have a short and finite lifespan. With advances in video on demand and delivering content over the internet, getting videos on hard media is headed the same direction as getting music on CD’s, cassettes, 8-tracks or vinyl . . .
In the StL region, politicians are produced like soda from vending machines…and they’re just as good for you. I rather have quick flicks then poptop leadership.
At least people have to get out of their cars to use these things–I agree with Jim Z that these are an interim solution until video on demand dominates the system. I’m a big fan of Movie Nut in Kirkwood, where I go for films I can’t get through our area libraries. I like it because it has lots of movies, many of which are unusual or low demand, and it has a nice local feel to it–and it’s just across the street from Mike Duffy’s. I can’t imagine one of these machines in downtown Kirkwood. But I do wish we had some street vendors around the train station–I would like a hot dog cart in the summer and a hot chestnuts cart in the winter. These machines seem the antithesis of human streetscape that makes Manhattan, for example, work in ways St Louis does not.
Sweet. After eating my double quarter pounder, large fries, and 42 oz coke, I can grab a movie, drive home, and sit on my ass! That’s hot! And with the T.V. in my minivan, the kids will enjoy the ride home too! America is awesome!
I don’t like the visual clutter either …. but in a way I do, actually. Real cities are messy. They have a lot going on, and in a lot of places, street vendors and automated machines are part of this, especially if it’s designed as a part of the space. I’m thinking here about the Coke machines tucked into a niche near the Colosseum in Rome, and a bank of vending in the side of a building just off the Champs d’Elysee in Paris. In a lot of cases, vending machines provide services where there isn’t enough market for a manned vendor. And wouldn’t it be great to have some of these machines on Metrolink platforms alongside the Pepsi machines and newpaper racks?
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So far as the demise of traditional media … it’s gonna be a while coming. A lot of us don’t want to pay $20/month for Netflix and the download on demand/video on the Internet thing has a long way to go before the quality is near what you get on a disc. What I’ve seen so far is not even as good as non-digital-over-the-air TV.
You must not be a patriot Doug.
Actually, downloading on the internet is the same quality you get on the disc. Often you can get it before it comes out disc. Of course it’s illegal, but the MPAA and RIAA have not embraced the future trend. Thus the people have innovated a better solution.
The one in my hometown of Godfrey Illinois is right next to the entrance. I saw folks drive up and do exactly what Doug was joking about. Seriously, that whole situation is so incredibly taylor made to a family that has a couple of kids and they want to get themselves a movie and the kids. One stop instead of two? HELLOOOO!! Less driving to two different locations thus saving gas.
Oh yeah they are a whole lotta ugly. Keep them inside is my preference and I would like to see my Alderman take that issue up seeing as we have a ton of fast food in the 24th
I dont mind what’s pictured, but I’d hate to see where this could lead to….Can just anyone put up some version
of this on the curb in front of their commercial proerty? That scares me.(and this is from someone who hates slippery slope arguments)
I am riding my bike to metrolink(Shrewsbury) and taking my bike on the train to Brentwood where I work. Anyone have any advise for doing this? This will be my absolute 1st time trying this out….I’m going to try to beat some traffic and get to the station by 6:45am
any advice would be appreciated.
Steve….havent visited the site in a while, so I’m thrilled that you’re doing as well as you are…and I pray that you continue to progress!
http://www.metrostlouis.org/GettingStarted/FAQs/bikenrideFAQs.asp
“Actually, downloading on the internet is the same quality you get on the disc. Often you can get it before it comes out disc. Of course it’s illegal, but the MPAA and RIAA have not embraced the future trend. Thus the people have innovated a better solution.”
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The next time someone breaks into your car to take something, remember – it’s not stealing. The crook just “innovated a better solution.”
Lisa, you say you’d like to see some of these on Metrolink platforms? I’d be happy to see US mailboxes on platforms. Or someplace around the station.
The Wash U med school bookstore on Euclid has one of these machines, too.
In other words, someone from the CWE could drop in and rent a movie on their walking home from the Metrolink, and return it on their way back to work the next morning.
In other words: the sky is not falling because you can rent a movie out of a machine.
I agree.
Just as the placing of numerous blue “Mail Boxes” around American cities made traditional “Post Offices” untenable and forced the USPS into bankruptcy.
When will people learn?!
There are two new McD’s in south city, one on Kingshighway south of Chippewa and one on Gravois north of River des Peres, and I think both their Red Boxes are inside, so I’d guess the city already has rules against them being outside . . . the McD closest to me (Hampton Village) and the Shop & Save on Watson both have theirs inside, as well.
> I agree.
> Just as the placing of numerous blue “Mail Boxes†around American cities made traditional “Post
> Offices†untenable and forced the USPS into bankruptcy.
Blue mail boxes aren’t what drove the USPS into bankruptcy, competition did. First, much of the parcel business was lost to carriers like UPS. Then, critical items that once traveled by “express mail” started going by FedEx and UPS express services. Many people that once communicated by letter have started using e-mail. And now, online billing and bill pay services have taken another big bite out of first class mail volume. The USPS can’t break even if most of what they deliver is advertising circulars, magazines, and credit card offers. And none of that has anything to do with those blue mailboxes.
Tokyo is a pretty urban city and if they can find a way to fit something in a vending machine, you can buy it from a vending machine.
Next up: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08136/881909-28.stm
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