Restaurants that cause traffic problems

[7/8]

I was driving to work today on Bridgeport Rd E near Lancaster St in Kitchener (GSV) and got stuck in a small "traffic jam" at the Tim Hortons (Canadian Donut Chain). It's a 2-lane road, and two cars ahead of me, the guy was trying to turn right into the Timmies, but of course the drive-thru was so backed up that he couldn't make his turn. A car going in the opposite direction was also stuck trying to make a left into the Timmies. So both directions were stopped!

Some cars going the other way actually went in the opposite lane to get around this. Finally, after a minute, they gave up on the drive-thru line and decided to find a parking spot instead, which let traffic on Bridgeport continue on.

I found an old article about this same problem from Fort McMurray, AB:

It's a problem that likely plagues hundreds of Tim Horton's location across the country each day, but RCMP in Fort McMurray are finally putting an end to it.

Drivers in the oil capital of Alberta now face a $172 fine and demerit points if they stop on the road and wait in line to make the right hand turn into the Timmie's drive-thru off Thickwood Boulevard, reports the Edmonton Sun.

The lineup is causing a dangerous traffic situation, and the chance of crashes has increased because people refuse to park and go into the store for their java fix.

"Because it's illegal to stop there, (they have) to either find parking in the Tim Hortons parking lot or they're going to have to find parking on the side road to then use the establishment, because it is a traffic hazard and it can cause accidents," Const. Ashley Quallie told Fort McMurray Today.

Police have even gone so far as to erect "no stopping" signs to remind drivers that lining up on the busy road is against the law.

So, are there any other restaurants that cause traffic problems in your area?

[nexus73]

In-N-Outs are notorious for their traffic jams, especially when a new one opens.

Rick

[AlexandriaVA]

I'm not a big fast-food guy, but I find that when a place has a drive through, it's often faster to park in the parking lot and order at the counter rather than queue up and wait in the drive-through line.

Can't say that I've known restaurants to cause traffic problems; I don't think drive-through culture is particularly big up here.

It's sort of stretching it, but in downtown DC on Pennsylvania Avenue, they have street festivals several times a year, including a BBQ cookout, which can distort the downtown traffic flow. But that's not really a restaurant.

[chays]

The lunch crowds at Chick-Fil-A can cause some gridlock at the immediate intersections.  I can't believe how popular this place is.  I don't dislike it, but I don't see how some people find it so absolutely appealing.

[hotdogPi]

New England Seafoods, Methuen, MA. On Fridays during Lent, they need a policeman to direct traffic.

[7/8]

In-N-Outs are notorious for their traffic jams, especially when a new one opens.

Rick

Seems ironic given the name

I'm not a big fast-food guy, but I find that when a place has a drive through, it's often faster to park in the parking lot and order at the counter rather than queue up and wait in the drive-through line.

I tend to do this myself, though I've noticed that they tend to prioritize drive-thru orders. But I agree that if the drive thru line is long, it can still be faster going inside.

[jwolfer]

There used to be a Dunkin Donuts on Roosevelt Blvd (US 17) in Jacksonville just north of San Juan Ave(SR 128)... Traffic in the morning would back up on to the highway, causing back ups and numerous rear end collisions. My ex wife was stopped in morning after dropping our daughter off at school and was struck. Pretty bad whiplash injury.

From what I understand PI attorneys sued the company for being the cause of accidents

I understand wanting coffee but if I were forced to stop on the street i would go elsewhere or park and get an order to go.  People just don't think.

[7/8]

I understand wanting coffee but if I were forced to stop on the street i would go elsewhere or park and get an order to go.  People just don't think.

This is what bothers me most about my situation this morning. They could have easily just drove in and found a parking spot, but instead they chose to wait on the street so they could use the drive thru. Very inconsiderate.

----

Another bad Tim Hortons spot in Kitchener is at Lackner Blvd and Victoria St (GSV)

A right lane begins just before the Timmies entrance, so half the people are signalling right to go into the Timmies, while the other half are signalling to get in this lane so they can turn on Victoria. Of course, some people leaving the Timmies see the right turn signals and think the car must be going into the Timmies when they're not, and it sometimes causes accidents.

I'm sure this isn't too uncommon of a problem for restaurants near intersections.

[1995hoo]

There's a KFC/Taco Bell in the shopping center near our house where the drive-thru backs up so much you can't access the drive-thru for the nearby Burger King. I've also seen fights start when people try to cut the line if someone doesn't block the thru lanes for traffic, or when people line up on the correct side of the road and someone else tries to line up on the wrong side.

On the rare occasion when I go there, I park and go inside. I'll be in and out in less time than it would have taken just to reach the ordering point at the drive-thru.

[Brandon]

Around Chicago, it would have to be any Portillo's.

[Max Rockatansky]

In-N-Outs are notorious for their traffic jams, especially when a new one opens.

Rick

I was about to say...  I worked on Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd in Scottsdale when the first one in Arizona opened up.  There was a line of traffic backed up past Scottsdale Road for about a week on and off.

[AlexandriaVA]

Unrelated, but does anyone else abhor the concept of eating in the car? For me it's a combination of the smell, the possibility of crumbs/spills, and inattention to the road.

[Max Rockatansky]

Unrelated, but does anyone else abhor the concept of eating in the car? For me it's a combination of the smell, the possibility of crumbs/spills, and inattention to the road.

Yes, I can't stand the mess and the distraction it causes while trying to drive.  I like to sit down and enjoy my food..at least I'll grab a pack of M&Ms for the car or a protein bar...

[AlexandriaVA]

Unrelated, but does anyone else abhor the concept of eating in the car? For me it's a combination of the smell, the possibility of crumbs/spills, and inattention to the road.

Yes, I can't stand the mess and the distraction it causes while trying to drive.  I like to sit down and enjoy my food..at least I'll grab a pack of M&Ms for the car or a protein bar...

I mean, I'll even gulp down a fast food crap meal in 1-2 minutes flat if it comes to it. But my thought is that if you can't take the time to sit down and eat (even if it's very fast), then you didn't budget your time well.

[briantroutman]

It seems that morning coffee stops are typical sites of traffic tie-ups.

In my hometown, the oldest and smallest Dunkin Donuts has a drive thru that backs up traffic every morning onto both the right eastbound lane and the left westbound lane of the street, throttling the four-lane arterial to one lane in each direction. Because the westbound drive thru queue is both waiting for a gap in traffic as well as playing "chicken"  with the cars already waiting in the eastbound right lane, screeching tires and near misses are common.

The entrance to the parking lot is barely two car widths, so one car width becomes the drive thru lane while the remaining space becomes a simultaneous in/out lane for the parking lot, made more hazardous by the limited sight distances caused by the queuing vehicles. Customers headed for the parking lot will sometimes pull into the next lane to bypass the drive thru traffic and then attempt to turn across two lanes to enter the parking lot. (Hopefully, someone isn't attempting to leave the parking lot at that moment.)

Complicating matters further, all in and out traffic has to cross a sidewalk as well as the unmarked and unpredictable paths of walk-in customers, as the drive thru forms kind of a vehicular moat around the store that customers on foot must cross.

And matters can get even worse if someone leaving the drive thru wants to turn left (eastbound) when there's already a queue in the eastbound lanes of Third Street. The exiting vehicle can't exit the drive thru...while simultaneously preventing the drive thru from moving so that the queue can clear. Classic gridlock.

[ghYHZ]

I was driving to work today on Bridgeport Rd E near Lancaster St in Kitchener (GSV) and got stuck in a small "traffic jam" at the Tim Hortons (Canadian Donut Chain). It's a 2-lane road, and two cars ahead of me, the guy was trying to turn right into the Timmies, but of course the drive-thru was so backed up that he couldn't make his turn. A car going in the opposite direction was also stuck trying to make a left into the Timmies. So both directions were stopped! each day.....

As soon as I saw this Topic....I thought Tim Hortons! I didn't even have to read the first post!

We're a small town (5,000) but have three Tims (soon four) and through traffic is regularly blocked by vehicles turning into the drive-thru lanes just as you describe above. Especially around 8am......and it doesn't help that one is located near the regional hospital and another near the university entrance.

[jeffandnicole]

If traffic is backed up by people trying to enter the drive thru, then the town/county council didn't do its job when approving the restaurant.  The restaurant probably used a traffic engineer that stated the increase in traffic will be X number of cars during the peak traffic hour for the restaurant as well.  The fault lies with both areas.

Coffee places are well known for traffic issues, due to the nature of massive amounts of people getting coffee in the morning.  And the drive-thru is more convenience than flowthru...sure it's faster to go in and order, but people don't want to get out of their cars.  From a roadgeek perspective, it's no different than any one of us wanting to take a longer route to view something, rather than the most direct route to our destination. 

As far as budgeting time, well, that's why there are so many drive-thru and convenience store restaurants.  People only have so much time in the day, and eating right isn't a high priority for most people.

[noelbotevera]

Happens a lot in my town. A commercial strip to the east of Chambersburg on US 30 has a lot of restaurants and there's always gridlock whenever you come up to one. However, sometimes access is controlled by having to do several turns, so it's a little better that way.

This has happened with amusement parks too. I've had backups with people trying to enter Hersheypark's parking lots and thus the cones and police are required to funnel traffic.

[Mr. Matté]

Unrelated, but does anyone else abhor the concept of eating in the car? For me it's a combination of the smell, the possibility of crumbs/spills, and inattention to the road.

Hi John Wisniewski!

[1995hoo]

Unrelated, but does anyone else abhor the concept of eating in the car? For me it's a combination of the smell, the possibility of crumbs/spills, and inattention to the road.

I do not allow fast food in the passenger compartment–if we stop to get food to go, it goes in the trunk until we're home. That doesn't mean I ban travel mugs with secure lids for coffee on long trips when we leave early in the morning, and things like a candy bar or granola bar (eaten carefully) are OK. But my car is clean and has no residual fast-food smell, so I try to keep it that way.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Another concept that is largely Chinese to me. There is exactly one drive-thru in the whole of my province, the McDonald's in my hometown (I haven't checked if the other one up in the mountains has a drive-thru), and it's only accessible from a parking lot, so it doesn't cause many traffic problems.

[SP Cook]

Bojangle's is expanding into my area and when the one on US 60 near Huntington, which is 2 lanes in each direction with a center turn lane and a quite busy road, opened, they had orange cones, a portable scoreboard type sign (Bojangles Traffic Use Right Lane), and real cops directing traffic for nearly a month.  Bojangle's is good.  It ain't great. 

The one that p***es me off is my local Tudor's (Tudor's is a biscuit sandwich breakfast place and, again is good but it ain't great) .  The place is the second store follwing a regular intersection.  There is only room for maybe 3 cars in the drive thru line and then the next car would be in the street.  The street is one lane in each direction with a center turn lane.  Nothing to go around the turn (a left turn for me) and see people stopped IN THE STREET in line for the drive thru.  Have to slam on the brakes.  Huh?  So the drive thru lane is full and you think it is acceptable to stop in the f***ing street and think you are in line.  Park your car and waddle in and order take out.

[froggie]

Pedestrians crossing US 1 in downtown Wiscasset, ME to get to Red's Eats contribute significantly to what is often 30-minute delays for US 1 traffic during the summertime.

[7/8]

I was driving to work today on Bridgeport Rd E near Lancaster St in Kitchener (GSV) and got stuck in a small "traffic jam" at the Tim Hortons (Canadian Donut Chain). It's a 2-lane road, and two cars ahead of me, the guy was trying to turn right into the Timmies, but of course the drive-thru was so backed up that he couldn't make his turn. A car going in the opposite direction was also stuck trying to make a left into the Timmies. So both directions were stopped! each day.....

As soon as I saw this Topic....I thought Tim Hortons! I didn't even have to read the first post!

We're a small town (5,000) but have three Tims (soon four) and through traffic is regularly blocked by vehicles turning into the drive-thru lanes just as you describe above. Especially around 8am......and it doesn't help that one is located near the regional hospital and another near the university entrance.

It's ridiculous how many Tim Hortons there are, and how close together they can be. My campus (University of Waterloo) has three. Some notable examples in Kitchener:

These two on Fairway Rd and Courtland Ave (really one street that changes names) are 750 m apart

Google Maps


And these two on Weber St are only 550 m apart!

Google Maps

[vdeane]

Sonic near Albany was like this when it first opened.  For the first few months, police had a couple entrances from NY 7 blocked off in an attempt to lengthen the queue (which was still overwhelmed the first week).  On the first day, the queue looped all the way around Forts Ferry Rd, Wade Rd, NY 7, and then down I-87 towards Saratoga County.
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.7561712,-73.7753345,237m/data=!3m1!1e3