Covy Moore/Rocky View Publishing

Drivers wait in line at the west-side Tim Hortons restaurant, May 9. The queue is often backed up, sometimes as far as the lights on Yankee Valley Boulevard and Main Street. The restaurant's owner, along with the City, is working on a proposal to fix the traffic congestion.

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Plan proposed to fix traffic at Tim Hortons

Airdronians may soon see a change in traffic patterns around the west-side Tim Hortons, located at Main Street and Yankee Valley Boulevard.

Staff provided council with proposed solutions for the restaurant, which regularly has traffic backed up onto Main Street, sometimes as far as the lights, May 7.

“A widening of the drive-thru is being considered,” said Lorne Stevens, director of community infrastructure for Airdrie. “It will increase the drive-thru and cut down on congestion.”

The plan includes two drive-thru lanes with two ordering windows. The move would increase the capacity of the line from 15 to 25 vehicles, with room for an extra four vehicles in the queue before traffic backs up to Main Street.

Should the proposal go through, five parking stalls would be lost.

There would also be an impact to about 1,400 square feet of the 2.9-acre municipal reserve to the north of the restaurant.

A portion of the path, landscaping and an existing storm trunk line in the area would also be impacted should the changes go forward.

All associated costs would be paid for by the restaurant.

Stevens said City staff is in support of the proposal.

“Staff wants to move ahead with these processes,” said Stevens.

“We do believe this will see significant improvement over the current traffic congestion.”

Restaurant owner Dave Willis said when the Tim Hortons location was chosen, no one had any idea of the amount of traffic it would attract.

“It is the commuter traffic going in there,” he said. “I agree 100 per cent this is a problem.”

Willis added a new location, to be opened this summer in King’s Heights, will hopefully decrease the demand on the Main Street and Yankee Valley location.

City staff will meet with Willis to determine the best solution. The matter will come before council at a later date.