Lynnwood preparing for third Chick-fil-A grand opening
May 3, 2015, 10:22 PM | Updated: May 4, 2015, 5:28 am
The Lynnwood City Police Department has met with the owners of the new Chick-fil-A restaurant to discuss a traffic plan. (MyNorthwest photo)
(MyNorthwest photo)
There’s about to be a lot more chicken sandwiches dished out in Lynnwood.
The third Chick-fil-A to open in less than two months in Washington will begin taking orders May 7. And with Chick-fil-A comes the now well-known possibility of traffic congestion.
The Lynnwood City Police Department has met with the owners of the restaurant to discuss a traffic plan, said city spokeswoman Julie Moore.
“We will have traffic control officers that will be helping the flow of traffic,” she said. “Helping people getting in and out of traffic.”
Off-duty officers will be working to lessen the impact of traffic going to the restaurant at 3026 196th Street SW. Chick-fil-A will be paying for the officers’ time.
Traffic issues surrounding Chick-fil-A are still being felt by the Bellevue location that opened on April 9. Traffic backups have forced the restaurant’s operator to hire off-duty officers. Now to alleviate the congestion, Bellevue is limiting the number of cars allowed into the parking lot to 10 at a time.
The question is, will Lynnwood’s location cause just as much of a headache?
Like the other Washington locations, the Lynnwood restaurant is not far from a freeway interchange. Interstate 5 is just to the west. And 196th Street is a heavily-used roadway. Its neighbors include Lowe’s, Whole Foods, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Babies R Us.
The site is larger than Bellevue’s. There are 95 parking stalls. Inside, there is seating for 124; seating for 16 is available on a patio. There’s also a play area.
“I think it’s going to be popular,” operator Paul Rosser said. “We’ve had some really great turnout so far at the Bellevue and Tacoma locations. So I just hope we can build on that and continue that success.”
Rosser, a recent transplant from Tennessee, said he recognizes traffic concerns as a result of the restaurant’s opening.
“We’ve been working really hard with local authorities to better manage the traffic around the site,” he said. “We’re going to do our best to mitigate as many traffic concerns as we can.”
