New Tim Hortons locations address old traffic concerns
by JESSICA L. FINCH Associate Editor

The overwhelming number of cars stopping at Tim Hortons has caused traffic backups in the drive-throughs leaving vehicles pouring into streets.

"The first thing that comes to mind is the nightmares of the older facilities," attorney Jeffrey Palumbo said referring to traffic problems.

A proposal for a Tim Hortons restaurant on Millersport Highway near Sylvan Parkway was the topic of a public hearing at Monday's Amherst Town Board meeting. No one spoke on the issue.

Representing Arista, LLC, Palumbo was requesting a special use permit to have a drive-through restaurant in B-3 zoning at 2320 Millersport.

He said this location would have drive-through space for 25 cars, compared to most older model stores that only accommodate 10. Most facilities serve 60 percent of the customers by drive-through, he said.

"Studies on five facilities found 57 vehicles go through in a peak hour and the average wait time is one minute," he said, adding that isn't the case when several cars arrive at the same time.

According to Palumbo the proposed site is comparable to the Tim Hortons at Transit and North French roads.

"You are not going to see cars at that site on Transit Road," he said, adding the same situation would be on Millersport.

A special use permit is required for serving food outside the establishment because this parcel is not part of the New Community District and falls under the old zoning code.

The Town Board voted to delay a decision until the July 2 meeting because the Erie County Planning Board had not submitted its decision on the 239 L&M - a review required because the parcel in question is within 500 feet of a state road.

The county has until June 20 to respond, if at that time it has not the town agencies can move forward.

In addition, the Planning Board had recommended a second driveway be added to the plan on Sylvan Parkway. Palumbo said he had been in discussions with the owner of the land but had not had success yet.

If the Town Board approves the special use, the next step would be for the Planning Board to approve the site plan.

concerns

A public hearing was also held about traffic concerns on Smallwood Drive. The Traffic Safety Committee reviewed the problem caused when parents do a U-turn after picking up and dropping off their children at Smallwood Elementary School.

The recommendation was to restrict U-turns on Smallwood Drive between Lakewood Parkway and Northledge Drive from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on school days. The board approved the recommendation.

Smallwood Drive resident Michael Murphy was the only resident to speak on the issue. He said although restricting U-turns was a start he didn't think it goes far enough to handle the problem.

Murphy said he was concerned that without being able to do a U-turn that parents would instead turn around in the Smallwood Drive residents' driveways. He said one of the problems is caused by parking on the roadway.

Chairman Lawrence J. Hunter, who presented the recommendation, said one of the problems was pupils coming in individual cars instead of using the school buses. The volume of traffic from parents was high during those pick-up and drop-off hours.