A new Tim Hortons on the corner of Main Street and Oak Hill Road could be in the future for Jamestown.
At Tuesday's Jamestown Planning Commission meeting, Tim Hortons representative Dan Blamowski submitted a rough draft of the proposed location on Main and Oak Hill.
The proposed business would have entrances and exits on both West Oak Hill and Main Street. It would have 17 parking spots and a drive-thru which could accommodate nine cars at a time. The restaurant would have three interior tables with three seats each, as well as several outdoor tables.
Blamowski justified the small amount of seating inside the restaurant by saying the proposed restaurant would mainly serve those seeking breakfast or coffee through the drive-thru on the way to work in the morning.
One of the questions which was raised by commission members was whether a nine-car drive-thru lane would be long enough to accommodate expected business for the restaurant during its peak business hours. Commission members said the Tim Hortons in Brooklyn Square can have 20 to 25 cars waiting in line for the drive-thru during peak hours. Traffic backup due to a full drive-thru could potentially cause an influx of traffic-related accidents on Main Street. Blamowski, however, believes the length of the drive-thru lane will be more than sufficient.
"We submitted a traffic analysis for the project which indicated what the approximate trip generation for this would be," said Blamowski. "Based on the distribution of the current traffic on the road and what the expected volumes would be from the northbound and southbound traffic directions, we feel that the (drive-thru) we've proposed on this site is sufficient to handle (peak-hour business)."
Other concerns which were raised by the commission pertained to the location of the entrance/exit on Main Street. The proposed lane to the restaurant would be located directly above the hill next to the city limit, which could create a blind hill issue and could potentially raise the risk of accidents as well. The suggestion that a dedicated exit be placed on Oak Hill Road was raised, however the commission ultimately decided that this would cause more problems than good, since it could create congestion issues at the corner of Oak Hill and Main, where customers are trying to get into the Community Bank located there.
Further discussion between the commission and Tim Hortons will occur before any resolutions will be submitted to City Council for approval.
