Citing traffic impacts, Mount Prospect trustees question Raising Cane's plan
A proposal for a new restaurant near an often congested Mount Prospect intersection is beginning to run into some gridlock of its own.
Village officials this week expressed concern that a new Raising Cane's at 915 E. Rand Road would aggravate traffic backups at or near the intersection of Mount Prospect, Central and Rand roads.
The proposal came before the village board Tuesday but will return to the board in two weeks for a second reading.
The plan is to demolish the former Century Tile building, which was built in 1978, and replace it with a 3,661-square-foot restaurant with a drive-through.
The stumbling block stems from the suggested access points to the restaurant. Drivers could make right turns to and from Rand Road. They could also enter from Albert Street, but make only left turns onto Albert.
Trustee Richard Rogers said leaving the site from Albert to go east on Central or north on Rand would be "almost an impossible situation."
"If you wanted to go north on Rand Road, making the left turn onto Central, you have about 100 feet to get over three lanes of traffic to make the left turn, a second almost impossible situation," Rogers added. "And we're talking about the second-worst intersection in the village. Somehow, this has not been thought out properly."
Emma Albers, a traffic engineer with Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc., said the amount of cars added by the restaurant would be "a drop in the bucket" compared with the vehicles already passing through.
Mount Prospect Development Planner Ann Choi said planned intersection improvements - including the addition of turn lanes and signal modification - would be complete before Raising Cane's' scheduled opening in the latter half of 2024.
The village would be monitoring the intersection and could widen Albert Street to provide two southbound lanes and one northbound lane as part of the village's street resurfacing program, she added.
Trustee Michael Zadel said he would hope that the investment in intersection improvements is not "tarnished at all by a single development on that corner."
Trustee John Matuszak said if the village modifies the intersection of Albert and Central to accommodate traffic generated by Raising Cane's, there should be cost sharing between the business and the village.