Newly-opened drive-thru Chick-fil-A causing traffic nightmare for DC neighborhood

WASHINGTON - A new drive-thru-only Chick-fil-A restaurant on Capitol Hill is ruffling more than a few feathers. Residents say the hot spot is causing a traffic nightmare in their neighborhood.

This Chick-fil-A location on Maryland Avenue in Northeast D.C. recently opened up for business last week. However, as customers head to the restaurant during the breakfast, lunch and dinner rush, a FOX 5 viewer says it is also creating traffic havoc in the area.

Karl Frasier sent us video showing the gridlock caused by the line of cars waiting to get to the drive-thru and it has gotten so congested that a D.C. police officer is seen directing traffic entering and exiting the drive-thru.

Residents say this has been a familiar scene since this Chick-fil-A restaurant opened. H.J. Amons Sr. said he called the District's Department of Transportation about the issue.

"I told them that we had a problem out here, that traffic was backed up and we need to send somebody out to make an impact study," he said. "They said they would send someone out and they did. They responded the same day. The result is that they sent two to three traffic officers out to divert and control traffic."

In addition to the officers directing traffic, the restaurant has changed the drive-thru's entrance and exit to one-way only to help with traffic flow. But residents want more than that to solve the problem.

"We really need DDOT to step in and close this G Street entrance/exit," said one resident. "This is a residential neighborhood. There is no reason that traffic for this business should be traveling and frankly impeding fire trucks and residents all the same, which is what we have seen in the last week."

"We already discussed this with Chick-fil-A and our ANC dating back to November 2016," said another resident. "We are hoping that it is reconsidered and implemented. It's greatly affecting our community and we are just asking for this entrance and exit to be closed."

FOX 5 has reached out to Chick-fil-A and DDOT for comment and is still awaiting a response as of Tuesday night.