Santa Barbara Chick-Fil-A drive-thru traffic could lead to ‘public nuisance’ label

Chick-Fil-A now has 90 days from the 1 March council meeting to present solutions that will prevent it from being labeled a public nuisance

The traffic congestion posed by a Santa Barbara Chick-Fil-A drive-thru is drawing such intense ire from local residents that it could soon be labelled a public nuisance by the city.

For years, the congestion created from the waffle-fry seeking California commuters has been a point of contention with the college town community. Reports of the queue blocking access to local businesses, increasing a risk for pedestrians and cyclists and delaying city buses have all been raised, according to city reports.

The drive-thru is positioned on one of the city’s major thoroughfares, State Street. And, perhaps because of the fast-food chain’s local popularity or because it’s one of the last remaining drive-thrus in a college town (the city banned new construction of drive-thrus more than 40 years ago, but Chick-Fil-A secured the novelty on their site because the location used to be a Burger King) it has drawn a line since its opening in 2013.

A city traffic report on the Chick-Fil-A drive-thru, published ahead of a 1 March Santa Barbara Council meeting, concluded that the queues resulting from the onslaught of drivers flocking to the fast-food chain can block one of State Street’s lanes for an average of 90 minutes on weekdays and 155 minutes on Saturdays (Chick-Fil-A does not operate on Sundays).

“Based on the existing environment in the vicinity of Chick-fil-A, I do not believe that a solution exists to safely accommodate the queue within the public right of way,” Derrick Bailey, the Principal Transportation Engineer for the city traffic report, wrote.

“Further, I do not believe that on-site improvements can be made that will prevent the queue from blocking State Street.”

There have been efforts between the local chain and the city to buttress against the steady stream of chicken nugget-hunting drivers who force traffic to snake down the main thoroughfare. These have included hiring a third-party to help mitigate the traffic congestion, pushing online orders and even creating an additional drive-thru lane, local news outlet Noozhawk reported.

​​Chick-Fil-A now has 90 days from the 1 March council meeting to present solutions that will prevent it from being labeled a public nuisance.