Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

In just a few short days, more than 250 people have signed a Change.org petition urging the Hartland Township to delay approval of a proposed Chick-fil-A at the corner of M-59 and Blaine Road until a comprehensive traffic study is conducted.

The petition, started by Cayla Coury, a local resident in the Hartland Shores Estates subdivision, raises serious concerns about public safety and traffic congestion in an already problematic intersection.

“We had a lot of people go to the original Planning Commission meeting, where we voiced concerns about traffic and safety problems at that intersection, and we didn’t hear anything promising from the Commission or Chick-Fil-A. So, there’s a lot of frustration from a lot people from the community,” Coury told WHMI News.

Residents describe frequent near-misses involving school buses, trailers, and commuters, and fear that adding a high-traffic fast food restaurant to a two-lane road could worsen the risks.

“Customers coming out of Wendy’s and Rural King already roll onto Blaine without stopping,” one petition commenter from Wixom wrote. “Blaine is only a two-lane street, unlike other locations that have Chick-fil-As.”

Hartland’s Planning Commission last week gave final approval to Chick-Fil-A’s initial site plan, which now heads to the full Township Board for approval.

The Board is scheduled to meet April 22.

The Change.org petition is linked below.