Here’s another good idea for a local newspaper article, have two commuters swap car vs bike and write about their experience.
Says the driver about biking,
“It’s not as scary as I thought. It’s not as difficult. Cars have been really friendly.”
Says the cyclist about driving,
“This definitely is not going to convince me to drive anymore”
“It was also very scary”
“I felt I had a lot of responsibility to watch out for the other people especially bicyclists who I felt I couldn’t see very well”
By a vote of 5 to 1, the City of Denton Planning and Zoning Comission chose to allow the proposed United Equities site plan for a CVS store with drive-through at Fry and Hickory.
The Denton Record Chronicle has an emotionless article about the Special Use Permit hearing.
The article fails to mention the following points:
* Handicapped visitors must walk through the drive through lane to enter the store. In fact, ALL parking visitors must walk through the drive-through lane to get to the store.
* The council chambers were filled mostly with citizens opposing the drive-through
* The consulting “traffic analyst” for United Equities nervously explained that his estimate of 8-10 cars through the drive-through per hour was based not on a current traffic study; he used data from previous years, and only for the month of July (obviously between major UNT semesters, and failing to project based on UNT’s rapidly increasing enrollment)
* The city staff planner who opened the discussion recommended permit approval and didn’t express interest in accurate traffic data or risk analysis. I’d say this creates huge liability for the city, developer, and especially pedestrians/cyclists.
* Much of the outspoken opposition were elderly homeowners in the Historic District, not the voters who elected officials can afford to anger.
* Patrice Lyke explained the history of the Special Use Permit: a disincentive to create unnecessary drive-throughs, since they encourage constant idling cars that pollute, especially in a designated “pedestrian-friendly” area.
* When asked by commissioners if the CVS would be open 24 hours, United Equities had no idea.
* An anonymous council meeting attendee answered (“no” to) the question, seemingly on behalf of CVS, yet he never identified himself officially or registered to speak. His remark is entirely unsubstantial.
* Several of the opposition mentioned counting cars in other local pharmacy drive-through lanes and finding peak traffic numbers as high as 30+ cars per hour.
* Nita Thurman (of the Denton RC staff) explained that she was hired by United Equities to do historic research, but that her opinion to support the drive-through was not influenced by her paid work.
* After the vote result was clear, the huge majority of attendees were visibly and audibly disappointed with the result.
* The site plan displayed (accepted as such) did not include an explained deletion of one ingress/egress point onto Hickory. Now there are only 2 ways to exit the drive-though lane and parking lot: out to Fry, and snaking through the parking lot and then out to Oak.
Planning and Zoning Public Hearing on the Fry St Project – Wednesday, Nov. 14th- 6:30
PM at the City Council Chambers
Attention all cyclists in Denton, your voices and presence can help make a huge difference at the City Council Chambers on Wednesday evening. A public hearing for the zoning exemptions to build a CVS drive-through on Fry St will be held.
The P&Z public hearing for the CVS drive-through permit on Fry St. is coming up this Wednesday at 6:30 PM in the City Council Chambers. This zoning permit would allow construction of a CVS pharmacy as an anchor tenant for a 55,000 sq foot strip center. This will undoubtedly increase vehicle traffic and accident risk for cyclists and pedestrians.
The Denton Development Plan designates this area as “pedestrian friendly”, which is in direct contrast to the proposed zoning exemption. As of the last hearing on this topic, the council did not seem terribly concerned or opposed.
Show up early if you want to fill out the slip to speak (which makes a huge impression!).
A Denton bike commuter named Jasmine was hit by a car last night. She says she was riding down Mingo road around midnight, when a sporty, dark car passed her and immediately turned right. She hit the side of the car and bounced back onto the ground. She says she had both front/rear lights on when this happened. The car fled, and hopefully a police report will be made.
