California authorities are close to declaring the bustling Chick-fil-A restaurant a “public nuisance” due to traffic safety concerns caused by long queues at the restaurant.
Earlier this month, the Santa Barbara City Council discussed what to do about Chick-fil-A, located at 3707 State Street, which has caused headaches for local business owners and residents.
City officials said they have been in talks with the store operator for years after complaints about ridiculously long lines of cars lining up for the restaurant’s famous chicken-focused menu items.
Earlier this month, the Santa Barbara City Council discussed what to do about Chick-fil-A, located at 3707 State Street (pictured), which caused headaches for local business owners.
The City Council report says that during the week, the fast food restaurant’s entry line blocks the entire lane for up to 90 minutes during the peak period.
Vehicle lines have blocked everything from driveways to nearby businesses, bike lanes and sidewalks, the community planning report said.
Due to long queues, even city buses and ambulances are forced to bypass busy areas and
During the week, the fast food restaurant’s entry line blocks the entire lane for up to 90 minutes during peak times, and up to 155 minutes on Saturdays, according to a City Council report.
“The City Highway Engineer, the Chief of Police and the Director of Community Development have assessed the situation and believe that the constant duplication of traffic on State Street is a public nuisance and that this inconvenience is caused by the operation of the Cheek Street driveway. fil-A restaurant,” the post reads.
At a March 1 meeting, council members said they had personally witnessed accidents caused by long lines and that they should not wait for the real accident to begin, according to the Santa Barbara News-Press.
Vehicle lines have blocked everything from driveways to nearby businesses, bike lanes and sidewalks, the community planning report said.
At a board meeting on March 1, board member Kristen Sneddon suggested that the restaurant had become too big for its current location and it was no longer realistic for him to work there.
“People shouldn’t be dying from a traffic accident before it’s declared a public nuisance,” Assistant City Attorney Dan Henchke said.
Council member Kristen Sneddon suggested that the restaurant had become too big for its current location and it was no longer realistic for him to work there.
“It’s not about the kindness of the company or the kindness of the owners, and certainly not the kindness of the employees,” she said. “Chick-fil-A has a good problem here. They are so successful that they have outgrown their site. To begin with, perhaps they were too big for this place.
At the meeting, Chick-fil-A representatives presented a plan to the council members to address their concerns.
Travis Collins, the owner and operator of the restaurant, noted that queues have shrunk in recent months, but vowed to deal with the queues, change parking spaces, and add a forced exit from the restaurant to the right.
“On behalf of ourselves, Chick-fil-A and many of the team members, we sincerely regret that the traffic situation has come to this point and sincerely wish to work in good faith with the city to resolve this issue once and for all,” Collins said. “We believe we have solutions, some of them.”
But Sneddon expressed doubt that the very popular restaurant could really handle the influx of customers who are willing to wait hours for food.
“Chick-fil-A patrons are tolerant of how far they are willing to queue,” she said.
The city council has scheduled a public hearing for June 7 where they will decide whether or not to declare the restaurant a public concern.
Possibly the only Chick-Fil-A in the city to be declared publicly obnoxious, it generated controversy online.
“It’s incredible what these awakened cities came up with. The city of Santa Barbara, California is considering declaring the Chick-fil-A restaurant in the city a public nuisance due to the traffic it generates from its driveways,” one person tweeted.
Another person applauded the City Council for taking action, tweeting, “Good for the City of Santa Barbara for taking a deeper look at this issue.” Some restaurant chains actually turn the roads leading to their stores into their own queues. In essence, the capture of public space for private enterprise.”
“Santa Barbara’s street is littered with homeless encampments and open-air drug stores, but they want to charge Chick-fil-A with disturbing the peace?” someone else tweeted.