Restaurant industry commends St. John’s City Council on drive-through decision
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 20, 2009
St. John’s -- The Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA) commends City Council in St. John’s, Newfoundland for taking a co-operative, consultative approach on solving traffic problems and rescinding its ban on drive throughs.
City Council lifted the two-week-old moratorium on drive-through outlets on Monday.
“Restaurant owners that operate drive throughs are very sensitive to the needs of the community when it comes to traffic congestion, and want to work with municipalities to help solve any issues,” says Luc Erjavec, CRFA Vice President for Atlantic Canada. “We are delighted that St. John’s will work with us to solve the problems instead of banning drive throughs.”
Business owners are typically required to do rigorous site planning and traffic pattern studies before requesting permission to build a drive through. Older sites, however, often need updating to handle traffic congestion and customer demand.
“Occasionally an outlet is the victim of its own success,” Erjavec says. “As more customers come to the outlet, some site adjustments may be needed to meet the increased demand.”
Tim Hortons Senior Vice President/Atlantic Region John Montgomery says his company is always willing to work cooperatively with any community that is facing a traffic issue.
“We don’t want customers waiting in the drive-through line a minute longer than necessary or lineups spilling out on to the street impeding traffic,” Montgomery says. “There are many options available to speed up customer service and reduce traffic congestion, such as restructuring parking lots or re-routing drive-through lanes."
Montgomery says drive throughs provide an important service to the community, particularly for those who may face challenges going into the restaurant such as people who are mobility impaired, parents with young children, the elderly or people who are in unfamiliar areas late at night or in bad weather.
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