Chick-fil-A will try again this month to win DDOT’s approval for a drive-thru at its planned Van Ness restaurant at 4422 Connecticut Avenue, using another traffic study and plan to address community questions left unanswered by its first effort.
The first traffic study left out pedestrians entirely. The second study (you can download the summary here) looks at pedestrian numbers on two weekdays and one Saturday in March during breakfast, lunch and dinnertime peak periods.
Pedestrian counts from Chick-fil-A’s March 2016 traffic study. “NB” and “SB” are northbound and southbound.
As for vehicle traffic numbers, the second study refers to back to the first study done in January, which projected 200 to 300% increases in hourly drive-thru traffic at peak periods, with the greatest increase on weekday evenings and Saturdays at midday. During the peak weekday evening hour, we could see 110 vehicles cross the sidewalk as they enter and exit the drive-thru, at a pace of almost two per minute. On Saturdays at midday, the pace could quicken to about 200 vehicles per hour, more than three per minute.
Drive-thru traffic counts at the existing Burger King in January. The totals represent how many times a vehicle crossed the sidewalk to enter or exit the drive-thru.
Projected drive-thru numbers at a 3,376 square foot Chick-fil-A at this location.
Even so, the second study states the “anticipated drive-thru traffic will not have a noticeable effect to the pedestrians, nor will it lead to any congestion issues.” In the morning, it says, the Chick-fil-A drive-thru will attract barely any more traffic than the Burger King location sees at that time now. At lunchtime, the projected drive-thru’s busiest weekday period, it sees a drop-off in pedestrian traffic. And in the evening, it cites “a relatively low rate of pedestrians compared to other blocks along Connecticut Avenue.” What it does not study is how many of those other blocks have vehicles crossing the sidewalk 100 times per hour.
The second study’s summary also touts plans to upgrade the property, saying the changes could provide “significant benefits” to pedestrians compared to conditions at the current Burger King site. “Significant upgrades” it suggests include:
And while it’s not clear how this helps from a safety standpoint, the summary mentions the planned outdoor café as an improvement to the pedestrian environment.
Patio as pedestrian amenity?
The second study explains in more detail how the restaurant intends to prevent cars in the drive-thru from stacking up during peak periods and blocking traffic on Connecticut Avenue. This involves sending at least three employees out to take orders, accept payments and deliver the food to waiting vehicles. A similar ordering process at other restaurants, it says, allows them to process approximately 30% more cars than a menu board and drive-up window alone. In the event of a surge in traffic, a fourth employee would come out to direct vehicles to the pass-through lane and the parking in the back of the lot. This employee, it says, would “assure a safe, calming presence” when the drive-thru is at its busiest.
Next steps
With this study and traffic plan, Chick-fil-A is attempting to address the primary considerations of the DDOT’s Public Space Committee. The committee is charged with determining whether the proposed use of a public space is consistent with the District’s laws and policies, and it will ultimately decide whether Chick-fil-A gets its drive-thru permits.
Applicants must show their projects meet these criteria:
An operative word is “additional.” Drive-thru opponent ANC 3F is making the case that the projected increase in cars using a Chick-fil-A drive-thru is an “additional use” with the potential of endangering the public and interfering with traffic.
Chick-fil-A’s drive-thru permit application is on the agenda of the committee’s April 28th meeting. The committee will take into account recommendations from various DC offices, ANC 3F’s resolution and written and verbal testimony. It will make its decision that day.
If you wish to testify in person or submit written testimony, contact Dipa Mehta, who is coordinating testimony for our community. Ward 3 Vision intends to submit a petition opposing the drive-thru, which you can sign.
This will be the second time Chick-fil-A’s public space application is scheduled for a Public Space Committee hearing. The first time was on February 25th, after ANC 3F has passed a resolution opposing the drive-thru due to pedestrian safety hazards. The date of the second study suggests Chick-fil-A wasn’t ready to try at the committee’s next meeting on March 24th. In the meantime, our ANC representatives have been reaching out to District officials to inform them of Chick-fil-A’s plans.
The outreach includes Mayor Muriel Bowser, who was in the neighborhood to kick off the annual Potholepalooza.
Commissioner Mary Beth Ray praised the mayor’s adoption of the Vision Zero plan to eliminate pedestrian and bike deaths by 2020. She then asked Mayor Bowser, “In light of that goal, how can we best work together to eliminate the proposed Chick Fil A drive through on Connecticut Avenue, to ensure pedestrian and vehicular safety, and continue to work toward the Office of Planning and community’s shared vision of a walkable, sustainable, beautiful Van Ness?”
Mayor Bowser agreed that Vision Zero is an important initiative of her administration, and is concerned about pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries along Connecticut and Wisconsin Avenues. She promised to look into the Chick-fil-A matter.
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John says
“anticipated drive-thru traffic will not have a noticeable effect to the pedestrians,”
Define noticeable. As in, the ownership of Chick-Fil-A will not notice the effect? How can 3 cars per minute not be noticeable?
It cites “a relatively low rate of pedestrians compared to other blocks along Connecticut Avenue.”
What does this mean? Do people teleport past that block or did they find that Van Ness isn’t Dupont Circle? Relative anything means very little without providing context. So this location is better for a drive thru than CT and K Street? That doesn’t mean it is a good location.
Then, they overestimate the value of a stripe of paint as a “significant upgrade,” Those will not have a noticeable effect to pedestrians.
“The summary mentions the planned outdoor café as an improvement to the pedestrian environment.”
Anything that goes there, and something will as evidenced by other nearby new restaurants and cafes, will be an improvement. Chick-Fil-A is not unique and this neighborhood does not need to beg or settle for tenth best. Perhaps it’ll be a Chick-Fil-A without a drive-thru and that’ll be fine, a true improvement; I’m not hear to whine about their politics. The drive-thru keeps it from being a pleasant walk; no amount of laughing people enjoying a chicken sandwich will change that; it only looks better in an architect’s rendering.
They are playing two sides here, one second they won’t have much more traffic, The next they are celebrating their 30% bump of cars they can handle per hour along with projections showing 200% to 400% increases at all times of the day. Which is it? I get that they are arguing that their busiest times won’t be the busiest pedestrian times, and that may be true, but there is a difference between “less busy” and “not busy.”
Honestly, this reads more like a PR release with some carefully selected numbers than an engineering study. They use lots of loose adjectives and don’t really define what is and isn’t acceptable; pretty much everything is acceptable to them.
Tracy J. says
The summary is really something, isn’t it? I hope people download and read the whole thing. There’s so much more to it but we don’t have time to get to it all.
JacobWilliams says
Unrelated to this article, but I don’t see it mentioned here yet. It looks like Mary Cheh would like Mayor Bowser to reconsider the Polish Ambassador’s residence at 3101 Albemarle NW (among some other locations) for the location of a homeless shelter in DC. I am not excited to see the stately residence and greenery demolished for a large building of any kind. I already emailed both Mary Cheh’s and Muriel Bowser’s offices. Do we have any other recourse?
Here’s an article on DCist that provides more information: http://dcist.com/2016/04/ward_3.php
Tracy J. says
When I saw that 3101 had been considered initially I was curious about what the planners saw in the site. Did they intend to use the house in some way? And since those negotiations were unsuccessful, I’m interested in learning why CM Cheh wants to reopen the possibility.
Tracy J. says
Also, if any readers notice holes in our coverage of the neighborhood (3101 and the Murch renovation are two topics that come to mind) it’s because we’ve got too much on our plate. My day job limits my time, and Marlene is also busy. We’ll happily accept write-ups on any topic, even if you have only enough for 100 words.
Thanks for the DCist link. I do plan a brief 3101 update with Cheh’s request and I’ll include that.
JacobWilliams says
Thanks for all you do! Love the site
Elizabeth Mettler says
Tracy – do you want a Murch Renovation update? I can find someone to do it or do it myself…