City plans to open Imperial for Chick-fil-A

Restaurant didn’t ask for access, but mayor believes traffic will demand it

This article is brought to you by Freedom Financial.

The residents of Cedar Crest showed up in force at City Hall last month to oppose a rumor that Chick-fil-A, planned for construction in the “Hobby Lobby” plaza at Markland and Ind. 931, wanted to open roads in the adjacent Cedar Crest subdivision to access the plaza parking lot.

It was just a rumor at the time. Chick-fil-A did not request the additional access. But Kokomo Mayor Tyler Moore and his administration now have plans to do so anyway.

“It is something the city is asking them to consider to help alleviate the expected traffic in and out of there,” said Moore.

The revelation puts to rest the rumors, but it doesn’t clear up the boatload of misinformation that spread in January concerning the project. Residents showed up at a Kokomo Board of Zoning Appeals meeting, contending the city sent a letter indicating that Imperial Drive and Belvedere Drive would be opened to the north, connecting the parking lot and the subdivision.

Plan commission director Greg Sheline correctly stated that the city wasn’t the author of the letter. A notice was sent to the property owners closest to the Chick-fil-A development concerning the zoning appeals it sought. But the roads were not part of that notice.

Moore also confirmed that the city didn’t send the offending letter.

“The letter that went around was talking about Belvedere being opened and the right of way being expanded onto people's property,” said Moore. “Nobody's property is being taken. (We) considered opening onto Imperial Drive for anybody deciding to take that way to head back south.

“Belvedere is not even a consideration. It'll just be that short stretch of Imperial.”

Moore confirmed that his administration intends on opening Imperial Drive. Doing so doesn’t require permission from the Kokomo Common Council or the nearby residents because a right of way connecting the road with the lot to the north already exists. However, the mayor said he is willing to notify residents prior to the work being done.

“It would just be a bit of road improvement,” said Moore. “I'd have to check to see if there needs to be permission from the owner of the plaza, but with a right of way already dedicated there, it would be an improvement similar to what we did along the north side of Markland Avenue by Raising Cane’s.

“I don't know how many residents would get a notice, but we can make a concerted effort to notify them when the development plans go before the Planning Commission for Chick-fil-A, because that could very well be part of it, showing the ingress and egress of traffic out of there as one of the potential options.”

As far as impacts to the subdivision are concerned, Moore said the city would be willing to run traffic counts and make efforts to slow traffic on Imperial Drive if speeds or volume become troublesome. He suggested speed bumps and signage as possible deterrents.

Even if Imperial Drive is opened to the plaza, there is still the matter of the extremely congested section of Markland Avenue just east of the Ind. 931 intersection. Traffic routinely snarls in that area without Chick-fil-A being there. Adding that attraction is sure to make a bad situation worse.

“We've already met with INDOT (Indiana Department of Transportation) about the number of entrances and just what that cluster looks like, and also the left turn lane heading southbound on 931,” said Moore. “They are looking at extending the turn lane and pushing the traffic a little further east.”

Moore wants residents to know that their concerns are known, despite the misinformation disseminated on social media about the situation.

“A number of folks have already shown up at the meetings,” said Moore. “Their concerns were voiced there, and they're known to the Director of Engineering as well. We'll look at what measures need to be taken.”