DETROIT – Over on Detroit’s far east side, some neighbors are pushing back against the proposed building of a restaurant at an already busy intersection.
The restaurant in question is Chick-fil-A.
The plan, if approved by the city of Detroit, is, after a demolition, to build the fast-food restaurant at the intersection of Mack Avenue and Marseilles Street in Detroit, near the border with Grosse Pointe.
It would be next door to The Green Tree Montessori, and parents and people who live in the area are worried about the traffic those franchise locations tend to bring.
On Wednesday, Oct. 18, a Detroit Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department (BSEED) special land use hearing was held over Zoom regarding the development. Developers and consultants presented plans and addressed previous concerns about emergency exit lanes. They also presented a study on other drive-thru businesses nearby.
Minutes from that hearing can be found on the city’s website here.
While there are local businesses that support the project, people who live on the street and parents of children at the nearby Montessori told Local 4 the residential streets already get congested during pick up and drop off times, and there are already speeding drivers.
There are also concerns about the air pollution from the exhaust of vehicles waiting in the drive-thru. Neighbors argue that Starbucks, a couple of blocks away, only sees high traffic in the morning but believe a Chick-fil-A will be consistently busy.
There was no decision made at the hearing held on Wednesday.