HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The City of Huntsville's Planning Commission has approved the construction of a Starbucks right off Memorial Parkway's exit onto the corner of Clinton Avenue and Heart of Huntsville Drive.
District 4 Council Member Bill Kling has concerns about this construction, especially when it comes to traffic backup.
"I have very strong concerns about the decision the planning commission made, somewhat similar over on Governors Drive, a little bit to the east of the parkway, there's a Starbucks and there's a problem during peak times where there's drive-thru traffic that hangs out and basically blocks off a lane going west on Governors Drive. That is not a good thing to have, especially during morning drive time," said Kling.
If you've ever driven past or even put yourself in line at a Starbucks during peak hours of the morning, you know how congested things can get.
Kling's worry is that congestion combined with this location would create a traffic nightmare.
"We all love Starbucks, it's great to have. It's a great way to socialize. It's a pretty good cup of coffee. But again, I think whether you're for it or against it, I think the issue is traffic, traffic safety and when you have protruding traffic coming out and blocking ongoing traffic, that could be very serious. You got somebody coming in off the parkway at a pretty good speed, they turn the curve and wham, next thing you know, they're going to run into a bunch of parked Starbucks vehicles waiting to get in because of the backlog," said Kling.
Kling says there has to be another way to still build the Starbucks that many want without the danger of this location and the possible traffic jams it could cause.
"I don't understand the rationale for putting it at this location. Surely the planning commission, the staff could come together and find another way to locate this new Starbucks, but do it in a way that's not going to be such an impact on oncoming traffic," said Kling.