No traffic restrictions on University Street will be put in place for a proposed shopping center that could include a Dutch Bros Coffee at the corner of University Street and War Memorial Drive.
Two lengthy discussions were held over how the shopping center development would impact traffic at the busy Peoria intersection, but ultimately the Peoria City Council voted Tuesday night to not adopt city staff’s recommendation to restrict the flow of traffic on University Street.
City Councilmember Alex Carmona, whose 2nd District is home to the proposed development, asked that the University Street turn restrictions — right turn in and right turn out, only — be struck from the proposal in compliance with a request from the developer to allow left turns.
Only Mayor Rita Ali voted against the proposal, citing traffic safety concerns on University Street and the lack of a traffic study. Ali supports the Dutch Bros development but favored seeing the results of a traffic study before eliminating the University Street turn restrictions.
Councilmember Bernice Gordon-Young said she had concerns about traffic near the development, but her concerns were quelled after she drove the area.
Councilman Tim Riggenbach, whose 3rd District sits across War Memorial Drive from the development, said he worried placing University Street turn restrictions on the project could be the city engaging in a case of “paralysis by analysis.”
There will be traffic restrictions for the development on Florence Avenue, however. Only left-in and right-out turns will be allowed on Florence Avenue.
The project will see two standalone, drive-thru-only restaurants built at the busy intersection, one of which will likely be a Dutch Bros Coffee, according to the developer.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Despite traffic concerns, new shopping center approved in Peoria
Reporting by JJ Bullock, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
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