Middleton Plan Commission pauses final decision on Culver’s drive‑thru after businesses and commissioners raise traffic and pedestrian safety concerns

A public hearing at the Middleton Plan Commission on March 24 examined a proposal to relocate Culver’s to 3112 Parmenter Street with an in‑vehicle sales/drive‑thru component. Company representatives and neighbors packed the speaker list; commissioners said they were generally supportive but deferred a final conditional‑use decision until staff and traffic consultants provide additional findings and designs.

Christie Hughes, senior vice president of development for Culver Franchising, told the commission the relocation and drive‑thru are intended to improve public and staff safety and guest experience and that the company supports the city’s recommended conditions. “We’ve been in the community a long time and are super excited to continue that relationship with you,” Hughes said in support of the project.

Multiple company representatives attended to field technical questions: Jeremy Jeffrey, a civil engineer on Culver’s team, and Kyle Dumbleton, director of architecture, engineering and construction, described why the proposed east–west building orientation was chosen to maintain internal stacking and efficient drive‑thru circulation.

Nearby business owner Bill O’Connell opposed some of the recommended traffic changes, saying he was not contacted in advance about a potential removal of a left‑turn movement that his business relies on. “We want to keep our left turn … we have 2 to 300 transactions during the week a day. Half people go left, half go right,” O’Connell said, warning that converting an existing access to right‑in/right‑out or routing customers through U‑turns would hurt his operations and increase unsafe maneuvers.

Staff and the commission called out pedestrian safety at the Parmenter/Lisa Lane intersection — a crossing used by school students and transit riders — as a primary concern. Staff summarized two reconfiguration alternatives from the traffic impact analysis (TIA): Alternative 1 would provide a northbound left onto Parmenter plus a southbound left into a private drive with a small “pork‑chop” island; Alternative 2 would remove the southbound left and convert private accesses to right‑in/right‑out only.

Commissioners and the applicant debated practical effects for delivery trucks and customer circulation under both options. Several members noted the real‑world risk that drivers will illegally go around islands, creating conflicts with pedestrians. Staff reported SRF consultants determined the intersection does not meet warrants for a traffic signal and recommended pedestrian‑prioritizing refinements instead (for example, relocating or redesigning a crossing and improving refuge areas).

The Plan Commission stopped short of taking the conditional use permit up for final action at the meeting. Staff explained the typical procedure: the commission holds the public hearing, collects testimony and direction, then drafts findings of fact and returns with a formal conditional‑use vote at the next meeting. Commissioners requested the city engineer and SRF consultants attend the next session with crash data, crosswalk alternatives and more detailed site‑plan revisions.

What’s next: staff will prepare findings of fact and revised site and traffic materials for the commission; the conditional use permit for Culver’s will return at a later meeting for a formal vote.