On Tuesday evening, Great Falls City Commissioners voted unanimously on a request from Chick-fil-A for the city to vacate an alleyway, where they have a building permit for the lot at 711 10th Avenue South. With that decision, Chick-fil-A will take over a portion of the alleyway and maintain it, and the city will no longer have to take care of it.
Justin Robicheau reports - watch the video here:
Great Falls Deputy City Manager Jeremy Jones said that Chick-fil-A owning the alleyway will keep traffic flowing for customers.
"They’re trying to set up their site plan, if you will, on the ground that they have. So it is the most accommodating for flow for patrons, but also doesn't cause congestion," Jones said.
According to Chick-fil-A, they will put 39 parking spaces south of the alley and 38 parking spaces north of the alley.
The popular fast-food restaurant specializes in chicken sandwiches and waffle fries, and has more than 3,000 locations across the country, including several in Montana — in Kalispell, Missoula, Bozeman, and Billings. There are also plans in the works for Chick-fil-A restaurants in Butte and in Helena.
The commission also unanimously approved establishing another phase of parking fees in downtown Great Falls.
Under this recommendation, the first two hours in the city parking garages will be free,and after that, $1.50 an hour will be charged. Surface lots will also go to $1.50 an hour.
"We are offering monthly and yearly rates at discounts. For those that use the garages a lot, such as business owners downtown, people that frequent downtown a lot. There will be options within that scale to purchase those different option patterns," Jones said.
