Special permits are required for drive-through restaurants.
LUDLOW - The Planning Board has continued until Dec. 29 a public hearing on a proposal by McDonald’s USA to raze the existing McDonald’s restaurant at 420 Center Street and replace it with a modernized building.
John Kusek of Bohler Engineering which was representing McDonald’s at a Thursday public hearing said the new building will be a more state of the art modern building and will take up less space on the existing lot.
It will allow for the installation of a two-lane drive-through which will help to keep traffic moving if one customer is placing a large order, he said.
“Seventy percent of our business is drive through business,” Kusek told the Planning Board.
The new building also will allow for more parking spaces on the site, he said.
Edgar Minnie who owns commercial property at 430 Center Street told the Planning Board he would like to see a curb cut placed between his property and McDonald’s to improve traffic flow by cars exiting from his businesses.
Cars exiting from his businesses could then use the traffic light which McDonald’s put in on Center Street 30 years ago, he said.
Planning Board Chairman Christopher Coelho said he would like to see Minnie and McDonald’s work out whether a curb cut will be provided between the two businesses.
Curb cuts have been provided between other commercial businesses off Center Street to ease the flow of traffic. There are curb cuts between a Dunkin Donuts, Subway and Friendly’s off Center Street, Coelho said.
The Planning Board debated whether to require McDonald’s to pay for a new traffic study of the amount of traffic exiting McDonald’s onto Center Street, but voted 4 to 1 against requiring the traffic study.
The Planning Board must issue a special permit for the project.
The public hearing was continued until Dec. 29 at 7:30 p.m. at the Town Hall.
Because of the Christmas holiday, the hearing could be postponed to a later date in January, Coelho said.