It seems last ditch efforts by neighbors will not stop McDonald’s from building a drive-thru only location in Spokane. Emails between the two parties this week suggest the drive-thru will open in June, as planned.
Representatives from McDonald’s approached the city for a building permit last spring, and the planning department granted it this February. That’s when Logan neighborhood stakeholders like Karen Byrd found out.
She’s been contacting the company ever since to explain the neighborhood is working toward a pedestrian-centric Hamilton street, and "work to redesign a restaurant that is consistent with our plans.”
She spoke at a news conference last week, and hoped McDonald’s would change the design. She and city council member Amber Waldref met with company rep Robert Stamm Tuesday to plead for a more pedestrian-friendly design, not a two lane drive-thru. In a last ditch effort Wednesday night Byrd sent McDonald’s three alternative designs. Stamm said, in an email shared with our station, they “respectfully decline as the layouts provided do not satisfy our business…,” end quote.
The McDonald’s sign at Hamilton and Augusta says “Come See Us In June”.
The Logan stakeholder group asks all builders to bring new buildings up to the street for a main-street feel, and all have complied in the last seven years. But, these plans aren’t written into city code. McDonald’s will not build up to the street. Amber Waldref says the city council will consider an ordinance in May to enforce the neighborhood’s plan.
Copyright 2014 Spokane Public Radio
