Published April 30 2015
The city announced today the implementation of new traffic control for the Chick-fil-A restaurant on 116th Avenue Northeast and Northeast Eighth Street, in an effort to maintain a safe environment for motorists and pedestrians in the area.
"Safety continues to be our top priority as we develop our traffic plan surrounding the operation of this restaurant. We are hopeful that changes made today will result in reduced congestion at this location," said Mike Johnson, Deputy Chief of the Bellevue Police Department.
Since Chick-fil-A opened on April 9, traffic backups have been a daily occurrence eastbound Northeast Eighth Street and southbound 116th Avenue Northeast. While volumes have decreased each week, it is still high for the fifth busiest intersection in Bellevue.
For the past couple of weeks, Chick-fil-A and the city have been working together to determine solutions to keep traffic moving safely and efficiently. Earlier this week, Chick-fil-A brought forward a new idea to improve the situation.
The short-term solution involves a change to flagging operations. Starting today, approximately 10 cars will be allowed into the parking lot at a time. Once capacity of both the parking lot and drive-thru queue is reached, the off-duty police officer will close the driveway into the restaurant and flag motorists on. The driveway will then be reopened for the next 10 vehicles once the other vehicles exit, and the cycle will continue. For those motorists who have been directed to continue moving south on 116th Avenue Northeast, they can loop around back to Northeast Eighth Street. The city believes that this adjusted flagging method will improve traffic flow.
"This should help ease congestion by moving traffic better through the Northeast Eighth and 116th Avenue Northeast intersection," said David Berg, Transportation director. "We have found Chick-fil-A responsive in helping determine solutions to this situation."
Over the next few days, the city and Chick-fil-A will evaluate whether this latest change has a positive impact on traffic. The city will continue to explore all options until traffic levels become acceptable.
If you are a motorist travelling in the area, be aware of the increased traffic and use alternate routes when possible. For continued safety and efficiency, please obey the flaggers and traffic laws.
In addition to the traffic back-up, two other issues have been raised by the public that are directly related to the opening of Chick-fil-A: parking and trash. In response to these reports, the city and Chick-fil-A are working together to identify additional parking options at neighboring locations. Increased trash has been seen in the areas and businesses surrounding the fast-food restaurant. Chick-fil-A employees are going out at least twice per day to clean up trash left by customers.
- Traffic Advisories
- Real Time Bellevue Traffic
- Follow the city of Twitter: @bellevuewa, @BvueTrans (Transportation Department)