The line of cars that sometimes pours out into the busy road waiting to get in the drive-thru of Chick-fil-A on North Atherton Street is still causing safety concerns in Patton Township.
Last December, the township made it illegal to make a left turn into the popular fast-food restaurant, but issues still remain. Now with the return of Penn State students this fall, coupled with the loss of the Chik-fil-A on campus, residents say things again are getting out of hand at the drive-thru line, especially during peak times.
Many community members have brought the issue to township, and the board of supervisors discussed it on Sept. 22. Because it was not on the meeting agenda, no action could be taken during the meeting, but the board looked at a potential solution.
“I have just noticed an awful lot of the time — lunchtime, dinnertime and even non-football times — there is a back up that comes out onto Atherton Street, and to me it is a traffic hazard, and it has been recognized. One of these days there is going to be a bad accident, I am afraid, and I just don’t want that to happen,” supervisor Elliot Abrams said.
“I don’t know how to run their business, they do, and they are doing very well and we encourage that.”
He wondered whether funds from the American Rescue Plan could be used to help solve the problem, but he added, “I think whatever we do, we have to insist, since they have so much business and they came to us with a plan that showed us that this is what they needed for their business, that it shouldn’t just fall on the township to fix this.”
Supervisor Pamela Robb said the township is taking the matter very seriously.
“The Chick-fil-A issue is very important to us, very. Because it is dealing with traffic and life,” Robb said.
“I would like the public to know … that we do hear you, and we are working tirelessly to resolve this.”
Police Chief Tyler Jolley said the issue has gotten worse since the return of Penn State students this fall.
“In the last approximately three weeks, our officers have stopped and issued warnings to about 30 … people,” Jolley said.
“Unfortunately, it is one of those things that if we are there, and we are directing traffic, trying to mitigate traffic issues, our officers can be there for 10 or 15 minutes to try and get things cleared out. In about 20 minutes later, you can go back and be right back in the same boat. So, it is the point where you kind of need something there constantly, especially during the rush hours of lunch and dinner. But we see it at odd times as well. Sometimes it can be 7 o’clock at night or 8:30 at night that it is still backed up.”
Jolley said he spoke to the business owner and asked for a timetable or action plan to move forward in addressing the issue.
He said he is waiting for a response and will present it to the board when he hears back.
The Gazette reached out to Chickfil-A for comment but did not receive a response.
Council member Anita Thies suggested that Chick-fil-A should hire someone to manage traffic and “deal with the problem until they find other remedies.”
Township Manager Doug Erickson said the restaurant had people out in the past, and “we will send that message again that they need to go back to that.”
This story appears in the Sept. 30-Oct. 6 edition of the Centre County Gazette.
