By HEATHER WRIGHT
On April 14, Prince George’s County Council put the brakes on a McDonald’s with drive-thru service proposed for 6585 Ager Road, in Lewisdale — at least for now. The council noted continuing concerns with traffic congestion; driver, pedestrian and cyclist safety; and public health.
The council voted, 9-0, to send plans for the McDonald’s with drive-thru service back to the county planning board — and said that the revised plan should consider forgoing drive-thru service.
The county council, which sits as the district council when reviewing planning and zoning matters, requested that the planning board more thoroughly analyze and address how the proposed driveway entry near a busy five-point intersection, as well as the proposed double drive-thru lanes, would impact road and on-site traffic, along with pedestrian and driver safety. The council asked for a health impact assessment and for an analysis of whether the proposed site contains any grave sites or artifacts. The council’s order also requested that technical staff reports and traffic studies, along with the property owner’s identity, be made part of the official record.
This past January, the county planning board approved a detailed site plan for a McDonald’s in Chillum’s Green Meadows Shopping Center, despite opposition from local residents, including from parents whose children attend César Chávez Dual Spanish Immersion School, located within one-third of a mile from the proposed location. Following an April 1 county council hearing, Councilmember Wanika Fisher (District 2), who represents Lewisdale, along with Hyattsville and Chillum, took the plan under advisement, meaning she would decide whether the plan would be further approved or sent back to the planning board.
Back in July 2014, the county council and planning board agreed that a plan for a different McDonald’s, in the Hyattsville Home Depot parking lot on East-West Highway, could go forward — if the plan excluded the drive-thru portion. Currently, there is no McDonald’s in that location.
