Do we really need another McDonald's?

LANCASTER- The Lancaster Town Board held a State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) meeting Monday night for the proposed site plan of a 3,911 square foot McDonald’s Restaurant, to be located at 4993 Transit Road.

A SEQR meeting requires the sponsoring or approving governmental body to identify and mitigate the significant environmental impacts of the activity it is proposing or permitting. While it is all well and good that the board came to the conclusion that this project will not have a negative impact on the environment, I still don’t agree with this project for a few reasons.

First being that during the meeting, Attorney Jeffrey Palumbo representing McDonald’s, stated that the main access for this project would be off of Transit Road, but the town has the Transit Road Traffic Access Management Plan in place, how is this possible?

Well, in order to have access onto Transit Road, the applicant, in this case McDonald’s, does need a special variance from the town board. I personally think the board should not allow this to happen simply due to the fact it would cause more accidents and of course increase traffic congestion.

Palumbo stated that if the board does not allow access to Transit Road, they would have to move the project elsewhere, which I guess is good to know, but in the same token how many other new businesses coming in will seek a variance to the Transit Road Access Management Plan?

I thought the plan was designed to limit the number of driveways motorists enter and exit on a main road, separate conflict points, and reduce interference with through traffic, therefore, creating a better flow of traffic and improving public safety.

Also, some businesses on Transit Road in the town already follow this plan by having internal roads that connect to one entrance and exit point onto Transit Road, which eliminates the conflict points. So, why should access from Transit Road be allowed for this business?

We all know it is very difficult to make a left turn when entering a store on Transit Road, and even worse to try to exit, especially if there is no traffic signal, for example Kohl’s. I can’t tell you how many times I felt like I was in that video game “Frogger.”

The proposed McDonald’s also shows access from the rear of the parcel. However, easements from both Joseph Cipolla of Bella Vista and Walmart will be necessary for access from the rear. According to Palumbo, Bella Vista and Walmart do not seem to have any objections to the tie in with this project, but will not commit to the tie in until this project is approved by the town.

But there is no guarantee here that either entity is going to agree with this, even after the project is approved. My concern is that the project is approved, but Walmart decides they don’t want to connect, what will happen? Is it too late then or can the board place a stipulation upon approval?

Another reason I don’t think this project is a good idea is because do we really need another McDonald’s? While, some of us enjoy their greasy French fries and hamburgers, it is not the best food to eat, personally in my opinion is the worse food you could eat. I have learned this through reading articles and through my own experiences.

I have gained weight from eating McDonald’s and I have found things in the meat that shouldn’t be there, hard white things. I don’t even know what it was and just the thought makes me sick.

I just hope the board considers not only the impact on the roadways, but the impact on people’s health.