Traffic ‘bedlam’ as Drive Thru re-opens
DRIVERS in Arklow faced some traffic disruption on Thursday following the re-opening of the McDonald’s Drive Thru in the town.
The fast food restaurant, located beside Pettitt’s SuperValu on the Wexford Road, opened at 11 a.m. on Thursday morning alongside 23 other Drive Thru’s nationwide. While the restaurant premises remained closed, drivers were able to order from a reduced takeaway menu.
However, there were delays on the Wexford Road on Thursday, which one source describing the traffic as ‘bedlam’. It’s understood that at one stage, traffic queues for the McDonald’s Drive Thru reached as far back as the Applegreen service station.
Local gardai were on duty to assist with the traffic travelling on the Wexford Road on Thursday. Traffic stewards have been put in place since. Several sources told this paper that Drive Thru queues had remained busy over the weekend, but had calmed down by Monday.
In a statement announcing the restaurant’s re-opening, McDonald’s said it had introduced a number of changes to their restaurants, including: social distancing in kitchens and service areas to help create a safe working environment for restaurant teams; perspex screens at Drive Thru windows and in specific areas of the restaurant and kitchen; and the use of protective equipment, McDonald’s employees will be asked to confirm they are fit and able to work and contactless thermometers will be used to take employee temperatures on arrival at work for every shift. The Arklow Drive Thru will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. In response to a query from this paper, a spokesperson for McDonald’s said ‘our franchisees are continuing to work closely with An Garda Síochána, and may determine that it is necessary to close Drive Thru lanes if queues cause disruption at busier sites or put employees or customers at risk.’