By Nancy Huddleston, Editor

City officials are hoping to avoid a “Sonic” boom at the corner of County Road 42 and Joppa Avenue when the popular drive-in eatery opens next month.

The plan is to temporarily close off the entrance for Sonic Drive-in traffic only off Joppa Avenue and direct traffic down the block to Corporate Center Drive. Motorists will then be directed onto an access driveway on the back section of the River Bend Plaza development, which will lead them up towards the Walgreens and around to Sonic.

The Joppa Avenue entrance will be signed to reflect that the entrance is for Walgreens customers only. Also, the Joppa access will be used to allow Sonic traffic to exit the site.

Jim Erickson, who works with Sonic on traffic plans, said cars can be stacked two or three cars wide on the southern access driveway, which will get the traffic off city streets.

Savage Police Capt. Bruce Simon said police are also concerned that Sonic customers who may decide they do not want to wait to get in may continue south on Joppa Avenue into the River Bend neighborhood. Although the street is signed “no outlet” because there is no southerly exit for the neighborhood, Simon said a more prominent “no outlet” sign may be temporarily erected at Corporate Center Drive and Joppa Avenue.

Simon also noted that Sonic representatives have inquired about how much it would cost for the city to provide uniformed officers to help with traffic control, but they have not formally made the request. “We are aware that taxpayer money should not be used to help control traffic there due to the extra traffic,” he said.

Planning Manager Bryan Tucker said some residents of the River Bend neighborhood have called city hall concerned about the traffic volumes reported when the first Sonic opened in St. Paul in June. As well, nearby businesses are concerned with the traffic impacts.

David Fong of D. Fong’s Chinese Cuisine has operated his restaurant in the retail area on the west side of Joppa for 12 years.

“A new business will bring welcome traffic to the area and we certainly want to see them succeed,” Fong said.

But on the other hand, Fong said, the added traffic presents a “Catch-22” scenario as customers wishing to get to his restaurant, Von Hansen’s Meats and other businesses in that retail center might not be able to get in due to the added traffic headed for Sonic. Or some Sonic customers may park in his parking lot and walk across the street.

Another concern is that Joppa Avenue has not been widened as part of the County Road 42 construction project. Fong said adding a right-turn lane on the east side of Joppa would have made sense and voiced concerns about that topic to the Savage City Council when it was approving plans for the Sonic last November.

Public Works Director John Powell said at the time that the right of way for the turn lane was acquired as part of the developer’s agreement and said the city was taking a “wait and see” approach to adding another lane.

Powell still maintains the lane configuration is adequate, noting “the rush of traffic due to a new Sonic entering the Minnesota market may be very different from the day-to-day traffic patterns once multiple Sonics are open.”

Tucker also noted that by the time the Savage Sonic opens in mid-August, the novelty of the new eatery might have worn off since two Sonics will be open in the metro area by then – one in St. Paul and another in Elk River.

Another thing the Savage site has going for it is that the southern end of the River Bend Plaza development is still vacant and the nearby Walgreens isn’t slated to open until a few weeks after the Sonic opens.

Tucker stressed the city’s priority is to keep the intersection of CR 42 and Joppa Avenue “as uncongested as possible” during the first few weeks Sonic is open.

“Although we do expect a similar response to the Savage Sonic as was seen in St. Paul, we have some flexibility on our site that they didn’t have,” Tucker noted.

Sonic features a family-based burger menu that offers drive-in service, complete with car hops on roller skates. The Savage site will also have a drive-thru service and some seating indoors.

Canopies are situated on both sides of the driveway aisle to provide a protective covering for cars. Menu boards are located at each stall and Sonic employees take and deliver orders to customers in their cars. There will be 23 parking stalls on the west side of the building and 14 on the north part of the lot.

Erickson said that once the traffic subsides, Sonic will reopen the Joppa Avenue entrance to its customers.

 Nancy Huddleston can be reached at editor@savagepacer.com.  

Have you experienced Sonic? If so, share your story with us online at www.savagepacer.com. Sign up as a registered user, view this story and add your comments to the box below the story.