City of Abilene votes to relocate southside Chick-fil-A due to traffic hazard
ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Driving to the southside Chick-fil-A restaurant is mostly met with some dangerous traffic hazards turning into the Drive through. Now, close to two decades after most residents have come to live with the discomfort, the city has been working to resolve the issue, leasing the chain a piece of its land.
Monday, the Abilene City Council decided it would vote to approve or deny a lease agreement signed by the eatery, to officially move its location down Southwest Drive to the 4300 block across from Wendy’s. That vote comes this Thursday, six months after it was first brought up.
South Abilene Chick-fil-a moving, giving parks and rec $7 million in the process
This decision comes after a long-time safety threat paced upon travelers at the South Clack Street and Southwest Drive intersection. Robert Hanna, Abilene’s city manager, told KTAB/KRBC he was glad there had not been any fatalities yet.
“As everybody knows, it’s a traffic magnet over there, and I’m surprised someone hasn’t been killed,” Hanna said in Monday’s briefing. “This will, along the way, help to solve that, and also generates revenue for the city that… taxpayers don’t pay. So, it’s a great use, we think, this particular piece of property. Hopefully council will agree.”
The property is owned by the parks and recreation department, meaning the selling of the property will funnel right back into the city, projecting at least $2 million during the first term of the lease, which is 15 years.
Residents like Tylynee Eaton has lived with the hazard since his college days, inspiring him to come up with a solution.
“It’s always been this way. Chick-fil-A’s a hot product in Abilene, and it just is what it is. So, we’ve all got kind of used to it,” explained Eaton. “Actually, me and my a few of my classmates, we wrote a paper and one of our studies was on Chick-fil-A and why it should move based on the congested nature of the traffic, and I’m sure that it hurts business, but often losing customers because they don’t want to wait.”
The final vote will determine if the move happens or not. If approved, the timeline for relocation will be up to Chick-fil-A.
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