NEW ORLEANS — It is one of the nation's most popular chicken spots, and it's loved just as much across New Orleans.
Chick-fil-A is opening another location Tuesday, but questions are being asked about whether the traffic pattern could cause traffic chaos.
The new Chick-fil-A on I-10 and Carrollton opens Tuesday at 6 a.m. Drivers who use this stretch of road know the traffic can be bad. You’ve got traffic on Tulane Avenue, and you’ve got the traffic on South Carrollton, there's also the on-and-off ramp to I10.
So the question now is, will lines at Chick-fil-A cause traffic nightmares?
The plan is to have drivers enter from Tulane Avenue. Chicken lovers will then take either of the two drive-thru lanes, exiting either on Tulane or South Carrollton.
Denise Doan is the manager at Boil Seafood House. She fears the increased traffic will deter customers, saying, “Without Chick-fil-A traffic is bad already. With Chick-fil-A, I think it is going to be worse.”
She went on to say, “The impact will be very serious because they are right across the street from us.”
“I think it will dismay some of our customers are they don’t want to sit through the traffic, I hope that is not the case, but I see it would be happening.”
The restaurant says they’ll have off-duty police officers assisting with traffic flow.
Restaurant Operator, Ben McLeish, said in part, “Team Members will greet customers in the drive-thru line in person and will take each guest’s orders on a tablet. As the order-taker walks the line, another restaurant Team Member will come to the customer’s car to take payment, allowing vehicles to move through more quickly than they do at a traditional speaker box drive-thru.”
As for Denise, she’s bracing for long waits because right by the restaurant on South Carrollton is also a bus stop.
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