Milton planners table final approval of McDonald’s site plan

Those waiting for the Golden Arches to come to Milton will have to wait a bit longer after the Milton Planning and Zoning Commission tabled an application for final site-plan approval until it can receive additional information on traffic flow to the site at the corner of Route 16 and Union Street Extended.

Traffic issues have long been the commission’s bugaboo when it comes to plans for the proposed 4,000-square-foot McDonald’s. The fast-food chain has planned to use the existing entrance and exit to the Food Lion shopping center and existing drive aisles within the parking lot to get to the McDonald’s.

At the commission’s April 16 meeting, Steve Fortunato, engineer for McDonald’s, said the plans include directional signage to show there is no access to eastbound Route 16 from the McDonald’s. Other signs have been noted on the plan to improve traffic flow around the site. He said traffic impact from the McDonald’s is different than for Royal Farms, which is planned across Union Street Extended. Royal Farms is required to do several intersection improvements, but McDonald’s will not because it is using existing entrances and exits. 

A question remains about the drive aisle leading to the restaurant. Even when the commission passed the preliminary site plan last year, it imposed conditions on McDonald’s to address concerns about speeding, parking and emergency vehicle access.

Commissioner Maurice McGrath told Fortunato and McDonald’s attorney Bill Rhodunda that his understanding of the conditions was that McDonald’s would have a dedicated drive aisle to the restaurant that would only be used by cars trying to access McDonald’s. Rhodunda said in talking with the management of the shopping center, it was determined that was not a good suggestion because it would lead to additional speeding through the shopping center. Rhodunda and Fortunato also said they believed the condition for a dedicated drive aisle was an alternative that could be explored but was not necessary for approval.

Commissioner Jeff Seemans, who voted against approving the preliminary site plan last year, said he still believed the entrance off Union Street Extended was suboptimal,. He said McDonald's patrons will have to turn into this entrance and make a u-turn into the most westerly parking bay, then make a hard left turn to travel south down the parking bay to the McDonald's site entrance, or if they turn into the Food Lion entrance they can make a right hand turn, travel south to the McDonald's site, but then make a right turn and a quick left turn into the McDonald's site. Seemans praised changes to the architectural design to make the restaurant fit in better with the surrounding area, and that McDonald’s is preserving the hedgerow and trees surrounding the site. 

Seemans moved to accept the plan on the condition that the commission receive a letter from the property owner that tractor-trailers will not be parked in the McDonald’s drive aisle. However, after commissioners Andy Gogates, Lynn Ekelund and George Cardwell voted no, further debate was held over concerns about the drive aisles. It was then that McDonald’s representatives asked for the application to be tabled to come back with additional information.