Spokane city council will vote Monday, January 29th on an emergency ordinance that would ban any drive thru restaurants from building on this stretch of 29th ave. The businesses that already have drive-thrus on the road (Mcdonald’s, A&W, KFC) would be grandfathered in.
Chick-Fil-A applied for a permit to build in the past, but was denied when their plans were not up to city code. The plans for this new building are up to code, but residents are concerned about the traffic impact it would have.
“I think it would be a traffic nightmare, 29th is not built for that kind of traffic,” Spokane resident Maggie Bentley said.
There is currently only one Chick-Fil-A in Spokane located on division, and on its opening day six police cars were sent to help control traffic.
“Do you remember when the one in mead opened, people were waiting in line for three, four, even five hours,” local resident Darien Haynes said.
Even with the demand that Spokane has for the restaurant, some locals don’t believe an additional chain is necessary.
“I think another fast food restaurant up here is… a less than positive idea,” Haynes added.
There are already nine areas in Spokane that are zoned to ban drive-thru restaurants, and council member Paul Dillon believes making 29th street the 10th will be beneficial for those who live there.
“It will be safer for pedestrians, it’s better for businesses, it’s better for small neighborhood businesses. So that’s something we want to build towards and have as a goal as a city,” Dillon said.
Dillon added that Spokane has seen a spike in the number of pedestrians hit by cars, and that this change would help increase safety for all those living in the area.
