By Emily Williams
At the Mountain Brook City Council meeting on Aug. 12, council members and officials heard from two representatives of Mountain Brook Village’s Lane Parke developer, Evson Inc., as well as many concerned residents.
Evson’s legal representative, Mel McElroy of Maynard, Cooper and Gale, presented the developer’s proposal to increase from two to four the number of drive-thrus allowed under the Planned Unit Development master plan.
“The point there is that it is an alternate option,” McElroy stated. “It doesn’t mean that we would ultimately do that. It gives us the flexibility to if catered by the leasing.”
He added that a few of the businesses that have shown interest in leasing space in the development have made their potential offers contingent on having drive-thru access.
In addition, McElroy requested that a drive-thru originally in the plan be moved from the top right corner of the former Kinnucan’s location to the alley along the left side of the structure.
The only definite new drive-thru discussed was one for a coffee shop on the Regions Bank block.
Richard Caudle, a Skipper Consulting traffic engineer representing Evson, presented a traffic study conducted to assess the potential impact the drive-thru could have on Jemison Parkway.
Though McElroy said Evson did not know exactly which coffee shop company would take over the space, the traffic study conducted by Skipper Consulting focused on Starbucks locations. It focused on a Starbucks on Montclair Road and one on U.S. 11 in Trussville.
The study found that the drive-thru queue likely would exceed its allotted space for nine cars for approximately six minutes during peak periods in the morning and afternoon.
Claudle said the data showed the likelihood of significant traffic issues on Jemison Parkway only during the morning peak hour.
According to the analysis, one car would be likely to block a pedestrian crosswalk at the entrance of the drive-thru for three minutes and up to four cars would stack up, causing road blocks.
Community members identified a number of issues in the proposed changes to the PUD – namely the impact on traffic and on village walkability and a shift in the culture of Mountain Brook Village from small business to big-box shops.
Resident Victor Hansen voiced many concerns, including potential issues with having a second coffee shop in Lane Parke, just one block away from a Revelator Coffee.
Hansen also identified the current Starbucks in Mountain Brook Village as the closest thing the village has to a “local coffee shop” and one that is beloved by many community members. That location does not have a drive-thru.
Patrick Darby, also a resident, read from a letter he had submitted to the City Council concerning the traffic study.
“Most importantly, there is no statement of methodology that allows the council to evaluate the statistical significance of this sample,” Darby said, noting that its findings relied most heavily on data obtained on one day’s operations at the Montclair Starbucks location.
In addition, Mountain Brook Board of Landscape Design Chair Sim Johnson shared concerns about the effect two new drive-thrus would have on the planned green space.
Johnson noted that the tree canopy, which already is at a minimum, would suffer from the removal of a sizeable landscaping area to accommodate the drive-thru entrance.
He suggested that Evson and the council find a way to include additional landscaping and trees elsewhere in the plan if additional drive-thrus were approved.
As Smith adjourned the nearly two-hour meeting, she announced that another hearing will be held Aug. 26.
