By Paul Basha, Summit Land Management Traffic Engineer
Yes, the three photographs below were taken recently at different coffeeshops in Scottsdale within a 60-minute period one morning.
Presumably your question refers to certain coffeeshops compared to other coffee shops, Brand S versus Brand D, for example. And Fast-Food Brand C versus Fast-Food Brand I.
In-and-Out Burger opened as a small mom-and-pop restaurant in 1948 in Baldwin, California. Within a few years, this location was transformed into the highest and best use of land in the United States: an interstate freeway (the Santa Monica Freeway). It’s ok, a replacement In-and-Out Burger opened in 1954 near the original In-and-Out Burger location.
The first In-and-Out Burger in Arizona opened in the year 2000 at the Promenade at Scottsdale Road and Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard. Long queues developed instantly. No surprise, people had been waiting for over half a century. People drove from across metropolitan Phoenix and the state of Arizona for the luxury of waiting four (4) hours in a line of cars while news helicopters flew overhead merely for the best possible hamburger. (I wouldn’t know, I’m vegetarian.)
In a few years, the second Arizona location opened in Peoria. (I prepared the Traffic Impact Analysis). Quickly, the Scottsdale location queues were reduced by half: theoretically, though not likely. Certainly, the more coffeeshops or fast-food restaurants in the same area – particularly of the same or better brand – the shorter the queues will be at each location. Though, there needs to be sufficient customers to justify each business location.
There are rumors that one particular coffeeshop chain generates much longer vehicle queues than all other coffeeshops. Also, rumors persist that one fast-food restaurant chain generates much longer vehicle queues than all other fast-food restaurants, except on Sundays. These rumors are probably true as humans are a daily migratory species, and tend to gather in flocks; or is it gaggles or pods or bevies or herds.
The below photograph is an interesting queue of vehicles. The queue extends off the bottom of the photograph and returns from the right side of the photograph.
Some atypical differences in this photograph. The vehicles are on the left side of the road not the right, and the centerline is white not yellow. This queue was caused by the opening of the first McDonalds in Scotland. Rather ironic, eh? Maybe not, McDonald’s employees rarely, if ever, wear plaid kilts.
The below photograph also isn’t in Phoenix, we don’t walk that much or wear coats. This is at a Shake Shack in Toronto.
Vehicle queues at drive-through coffeeshops or fast-food restaurants certainly vary by the real or believed food quality (perception is reality). Also important is the size of the building and whether or not indoor dining is provided. In recent years, both coffeeshops and fast-food restaurants have employees walking down the vehicle queue taking orders, which expedites the food delivery and shortens vehicle queues. Coffeeshops on the right side of the road near a major freeway entrance typically generate more traffic than coffee shops in other locations. Fast-food restaurants on the right side of the road near a major freeway exit typically generate more traffic than fast-food restaurants in other locations.
Traffic engineering students at Northern Arizona University studied queuing, for three days, at a coffeeshop thought to be the brand that generates the longest queues. They discovered morning queues of 0 to 18 vehicles and evening queues of 2 to 26 vehicles. Coffee at night? Might be university students.
Studies by consulting traffic engineers counting vehicles at other coffeeshops discovered queue lengths of 3 to 16 vehicles, indicating that one coffeeshop brand likely has queues longer than other coffeeshop brands.
Another consultant discovered queue lengths at fast-food restaurants of 5 to 34 vehicles.
Traffic engineers assume a vehicle length of 20 feet. Generally, typical-sized coffeeshops, without indoor dining, should have 520 feet of single-lane drive through or 260 feet of dual-lane drive-through. Fast-food restaurants, of typical size, should have 680 feet of single-lane drive-through or 340 feet of dual-lane drive-through.
Coffeeshops and fast-food restaurants seem to have very long queues. However, private and charter schools are far more popular than coffeeshops or fast-food restaurants. Private and charter schools generate queues of 4.30 feet-per-student, so a 500-student school would require 2,150 feet of queue storage accommodating approximately 107 vehicles.
The newest large charter high school in Scottsdale requires queue storage for 240 vehicles or 4,800 feet. Impressive, what say? And used 40 minutes twice each school day, never otherwise.
Cities have long required queue analyses for proposed schools. Recently, the cities of Peoria and Mesa began requiring detailed analysis of every proposed drive-through business. Every business should be analyzed individually by a professional traffic engineer to determine the necessary queue storage length. What’s critical is that the vehicle queues remain on private property and do not disrupt travel on public streets.
A Traffic Impact Analysis recently completed by Summit Land Management for a large commercial center with a variety of businesses recommended queue storage lengths of 540 feet for each of two (2) fast-food restaurants; and 1,500 feet of queue storage for a coffee shop; and 200 feet of queue storage for an automated car wash.
So, yes, some coffee shops and some fast-food restaurants generate longer queues than others. Only your traffic engineer knows how much.
Curious about something traffic? Call or e-mail Paul at (480) 505-3931 and pbasha@summitlandmgmt.com.
