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Tim Hortons Sierra Springs location will soon be rebuilding its drive-through. Council approved a lease application, Oct. 1, making the revamp possible,

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West-side Tim Hortons drive-thru approved

Sierra Springs Tim Hortons customers will soon see a change in traffic patterns.

Airdrie City council approved an application to lease 1,428 square feet of the municipal reserve (MR) lands just north of the site to allow for an expanded drive-thru that could accommodate more cars, Oct. 1.

Mayor Peter Brown said while the expanded drive-thru won’t completely fix the problem, it will help.

“It will definitely help in the short term,” said Mayor Peter Brown. “Once they open the north store and the one in Kingsview Market… it will definitely alleviate the pressure in that location.”

In June 2011, council directed staff to investigate solutions for traffic at the restaurant that is often backed up onto the roadway and to the intersection at Main Street and Yankee Valley Boulevard, during peak morning hours.

In May 2012, staff presented a proposed solution that included the restaurant modifying its drive-thru to increase its capacity. On July 20, Tim Hortons management submitted a request to allow two drive-thru ordering stations that would increase capacity from 15 to 25 cars. Construction is expected to begin this year.

The drive-thru will take up about two per cent of the proposed MR parcel. Site redevelopment will result in minor modification of an existing pathway. The site will be landscaped and trees will be planted to ensure effective buffering between the pathway and the new drive-thru lanes.

Resident Richard Herdman was the lone opposition to the application, citing the preservation of native land as reasons to refuse the request.

“I think the precedent needs to be set that whenever we are gong to carve up parkland… we have to create a policy,” he said. “We need our parkland, we need our open space. We desperately need a different view on council.”