Yorba Linda officials study traffic impacts well in advance of In-N-Out Burger restaurant opening

Yorba Linda city officials are already studying traffic impacts for an In-N-Out Burger restaurant planned for property that is now occupied by the public library and soil remediation equipment on Imperial Highway between Lemon Drive and Olinda Street.

The near-4,000-square-foot facility on the 1.5-acre site is expected to draw more traffic than the library, especially during the eatery's peak hours, according to a 53-page study (with 321 pages of appendices) presented at a recent Traffic Commission meeting.

“The proposed project is anticipated to be constructed and fully operational by the year 2021,” Tony Wang, the city's traffic engineering manager, reported to the five City Council-appointed commissioners at their October session.

The new two-story, 45,000-square-foot library, now under construction at the southeast corner of the Lakeview Avenue and Lemon Drive intersection along with the separate 13,500-square-foot cultural arts center, is expected to open in summer 2020.

The In-N-Out will be built using the company's “urban design” plan and be similar to the La Habra restaurant on Lambert Road. The land is an “unusual site to design” and will require a retaining wall due to different elevations, a company representative told commissioners.

Traffic flow for the drive-through portion of the facility and parking for the some 70 indoor and a similar number of outdoor seats is a key topic in the study reviewed by commissioners, due to In-N-Out's large fan base and the long lines common at most of the company's outlets.

The proposed project's drive-through lane can store approximately 29 passenger vehicles and is anticipated to entirely accommodate the peak drive-through demand of 21 vehicles, Wang reported to commissioners.

A contingency plan has been developed should the actual drive-through queue exceed expectations, Wang stated. The plan involves closing an entrance on Lemon Drive and directing traffic to an Olinda Street driveway, to be implemented on an as-needed basis.

Cameras will alert restaurant managers to potential drive-through and parking problems.

A total of 212 trips to In-N-Out will be generated during a weekday afternoon peak hour, or 46 more than the 166 trips to the library during a May 9 survey. The Saturday afternoon peak will generate 232 In-N-Out trips, 34 more than the 198 to the library during a May 11 survey.

Several factors, including statistics from other In-N-Out and Chick-fil-A locations and current and future local traffic estimates, provided the vehicle figures anticipated for the Yorba Linda site.

In addition to the Lemon Drive and Olinda Street entrances to the project, eight nearby intersections were reviewed, with “no significant traffic impacts” found, based on a city-established standard, so “no mitigation measures will be required.”

The company will hire off-duty Sheriff's deputies to aid traffic flow during opening weeks.