The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Taco Bell plans new location
Traffic restriction proposed by city administration
A run for the border may get a little shorter for those living near Diamond Centre in Mentor.
Taco Bell representatives propose building a restaurant with a drive-through window and outdoor patio at 9490 Diamond Centre Drive.
The preliminary site plan and request for a conditional-use permit are on the city Planning Commission agenda for March 23.
The site plan indicates that a new parcel would be created within the Trask Towers shopping center parking lot, near the former Brown Derby. The applicant will need to submit a minor
subdivision application for review by the city.
“This will be a new location for Taco Bell,” said Ronald M. Traub, Mentor’s economic & community development director.
Despite the widening of Heisley Road, it can still take those going out for lunch several minutes to drive to Mentor Avenue, Traub said, and if they have a taste for Taco Bell, they have to drive across the street from Great
Lakes Mall to Mentor Avenue and Wayside.
The multitenant shopping center was constructed in 1998 by JTO Inc., and the amount of commercial and residential development in and around Diamond Centre has multiplied significantly since then. Consequently, so has the traffic.
The city engineer and police chief are recommending that the proposed westerly drive be modified to right-in/ right-out only, because of its proximity to the Heisley Road intersection.
Officials expressed concern about traffic backing
up from the signal at Heisley Road, which could create difficulty making left turns out of western drive onto Diamond Centre.
Engineer Dave Swiger noted that planned construction of a second leftturn lane at the intersection of Heisley and Diamond Centre may impact the frontage of the property.
The proposed hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday, and 7 a.m. to 4 a.m. Thursday through Saturday. The facility will have between seven and nine employees per shift.