Business News
Neighbors raise traffic concerns as Chick-fil-A updates plans for Gig Harbor restaurant
The fast food restaurant Chick-fil-A has updated its plans for a restaurant on Olympic Drive, where several area residents are concerned about traffic and pedestrian safety.
The restaurant submitted its most recent plans in July and August. They include two drive-thru lanes and outdoor seating on a roughly 2-acre lot on Olympic Drive that is now the Chevron station. Patrons would access the eatery via driveways on 32nd Avenue and 50th Street Court, according to the plans.
City planners are reviewing Chick-fil-A’s conditional use permit application, said Community Development Director Eric Baker.
A page from a traffic study shows where the new Chic-fil-A building would be located on the property on Olympic Drive.
1,239 new weekday trips
A traffic study projects the restaurant at 5115 Olympic Dr. will generate an average of at least 1,239 new weekday daily trips. The study used trip-generation estimates based on traffic generated at Chic-fil-A’s Bellevue and Shoreline locations.
The intersection of Olympic and Point Fosdick drives is already over-saturated, according to the traffic study. But the city’s long term plan for a new Hunt Street crossing over state Highway 16 would alleviate the backup on Olympic Drive, according to the study.
“It would be premature to comment on whether the revised (traffic impact study ) is consistent with city code or public works analysis,” Baker said. “A review should be complete in early September, and more information may be available at that time.”
A sign outside the Chevron on Olympic Drive announces plans for a new Chick-fil-A there. Photo by Vince Dice
Candy Porter, a 23-year Gig Harbor resident who lives on 38th Avenue near 50th Street Court, is one of many neighbors who submitted letters to the city raising concerns about the restaurant.
“My biggest complaint is that 38th can be busy during school hours,” Porter said. “I have nothing against Chick-fil-A, but I think it’s one of the worst choices for this kind of place traffic-wise.”
Accessing nearby neighborhoods
Teresa Donnelly, who lives on 50th Street Court, said traffic backs up on Olympic Drive every afternoon. It’s hard for her to get out of her neighborhood.
“I live less than a quarter of a mile away from where they want to build Chick-fil-A, and I’ve seen what it’s like in other places where Chick-fil-A is.
“It gets quite congested in this intersection. What they’re proposing doesn’t make sense to me. “
The restaurant’s proposal suggests that on-site traffic stacking should be adequate to accommodate anticipated drive-thru queues. Plans also call for installing a median on Olympic Drive, which the city requires. The median would restrict the Chick-fil-A driveway to right-turn in and right-turn out movement, according to the traffic study. This will affect the Metropolitan Market driveway on Olympic Drive, which is opposite the proposed Chick-fil-A.
Right now, motorists can turn right or left out of the market onto Olympic Drive.
Year-old plans
The chicken chain first approached city officials in 2025 and construction management consultants, requesting a pre-application conference to discuss requirements for opening a drive-thru at the site.
Sall Enterprises IV Inc. owns the land, according to public documents previously reported by Gig Harbor Now. The proposed site includes 51 parking spaces. The restaurant would not have any indoor seating, but outdoor seating would be available.