QuickTrip Ends 24 Hour Stores To Prevent Crime

[veteran+]

Little bit of missed snark here and a bit too much attention to crap social media and cable news.

I can understand how this may sound extreme to you if you haven't spent much time in Los Angeles. I was a little shocked the first time I experienced it too. But once you are there and around it you realize it is not a big deal and it is set up this way for good reasons. The parking lots tend to be a bit littered, but not much loitering going on within the gates, and once you get inside the stores they all tend to be clean and orderly.

I have been to Los Angeles, many times, and been to multiple stores with this set up. This is nothing new; it has been this way for decades. Nothing to do with "crap social media" - these gated stores existed before "crap social media" was even invented. Perhaps I exaggerated about the barbed wire but are sharp tops to the gate bars really any different than barbed wire (someone would get injured trying to jump the fences into these shopping centers in Los Angeles).

For the purpose of convenience, you don't have to go all the way to Los Angeles to validate this, you can just go over to Google Maps street view and check out the following addresses. These are just a few examples.

Rodeo Galleria (former Vons or perhaps Sav-On Foods, now Korean marketplace)- 833 S. Western Los Angeles, CA
CVS (former Ralphs; Ralphs had the same set up with the gated lot) - 4030 S. Western Los Angeles, CA. Also garage doors go down over the front of the building at night (again same set up for Ralphs).
Numero Uno (former Safeway)- 4373 Vermont Ave. Los Angeles, CA


As you go through Google maps in these areas you will see numerous other businesses with the same set up of gated lots, sharp top of gate or barbed wire, etc.

Well I guess that explains it well.

I don't linger in those areas.

Most of Los Angeles is not like that, in my experience (and I have lived here on and off since 1984, ooops, giving my age away ).

[Groceteria]

Most of Los Angeles is not like that, in my experience (and I have lived here on and off since 1984, ooops, giving my age away ).

^^^ This…

Of course there are urban neighborhoods that are more crime-prone and there are retailers that react to this environment.

Is this new? No. When I lived in San Francisco 30 years ago, I regularly shopped at a FoodsCo on Folsom Street with a very well fortified parking lot. I also frequented convenience stores and fast food restaurants with bulletproof glass or that only offered outdoor window service at night.

Is it an issue common to every corner of all urban areas? Of course not. The closings (or other security measures) are generally limited to specific stores with specific issues. It’s not like retail stores all over every major American city are becoming fortresses en masse. For every fenced parking lot in one part of town, there’s usually a shiny new and overpriced “urban market“ opening across town in the gentrified zone. At least in most of the cities I’ve visited recently.

EDIT: In fact, my old FoodsCo in SF is now LESS fortified than it was in the 1990s.

[storewanderer]

Most of Los Angeles is not like that, in my experience (and I have lived here on and off since 1984, ooops, giving my age away ).

^^^ This…

Of course there are urban neighborhoods that are more crime-prone and there are retailers that react to this environment.

Is this new? No. When I lived in San Francisco 30 years ago, I regularly shopped at a FoodsCo on Folsom Street with a very well fortified parking lot. I also frequented convenience stores and fast food restaurants with bulletproof glass or that only offered outdoor window service at night.

Is it an issue common to every corner of all urban areas? Of course not. The closings (or other security measures) are generally limited to specific stores with specific issues. It’s not like retail stores all over every major American city are becoming fortresses en masse. For every fenced parking lot in one part of town, there’s usually a shiny new and overpriced “urban market“ opening across town in the gentrified zone. At least in most of the cities I’ve visited recently.

EDIT: In fact, my old FoodsCo in SF is now LESS fortified than it was in the 1990s.

This is very common in industrial type of businesses/yards in all areas (even very rural) to have the entire lot fenced and gated. It is just not common in Commercial business. And it goes on for many miles in Los Angeles; at least a 4 mile by 4 mile radius if not more boxed in where a lot of the retail (gas stations and fast food excluded... since they are often open 24 hours anyway) is like this.

These gates around Los Angeles Commercial Areas in the neighborhoods I cited are nothing new. These are easily 20-30 years old if not older. I suspect they were installed in the early 90's. I think these work in Los Angeles as the city is more car focused. This type of set up is bad for pedestrian and bike traffic with limited entries, parking lots that tend to congest due to limited entry/exit points, etc.

I have not seen gates/fences around 100% of a major retail building in NorCal other than that FoodsCo you cited. FoodsCo took the gates/fences away on that store some time ago. I am not sure why they had gates there in the first place but that area at one time was more "industrial" so I am wondering if that was the reason for it in the past. There are number of reasons to take the gates away there; more people around the neighborhood at night, ease of access for those on bike/foot, better visibility for the store, etc. The store looks much better without the gates and is more inviting. Also litter tends to accumulate around the perimeter of the gated areas and makes for a bad look.

From a safety perspective I am wondering if these gated/fenced commercial businesses meet the fire code. It makes it difficult to get everyone away from the building quickly (since in some cases getting away would mean getting out and running across the street) when everyone is being funneled out through a limited number of "openings" in the gate.

[Alpha8472]

The Google street view maps show lots of openings in the fence. As long as they are open during business hours, they should be compliant with fire code. The gates are supposed to be able to be opened from the inside.

I was in a Walmart once when it was attacked by looters and set on fire. One entrance door was enough for the store to be evacuated within 10 minutes. Getting out of the parking lot was a problem with only 2 street entrances. If there is a fence, 2 gates should be enough for an evacuation.