Plans to add a drive-thru component to the Subway franchise on Fourteenth Street and Deakin Avenue has raised 11 objections so far from nearby businesses and residents.

By VINNIE RODI

A MILDURA-based Subway franchise will transform into a drive-thru outlet should a planning application currently before Mildura Rural City Council be approved.

The application, lodged by Roy Costa Planning and Development on behalf of Subway Mildura franchisee, Vikram Singh, is for building works and a drive-thru associated with the Subway franchise located on the corner of Fourteenth Street and Deakin Avenue.

The applicant is proposing to build a drive-thru for the existing Subway building, construct a server window within the existing building, erect an ‘ordering pillar’ and erect signage associated with traffic movements on the site.

The applicant is also proposing to alter the existing car-parking layout, and re-seal the entire surface of the carpark.

According to the application before Council, the number of car-parking spaces available (13) – which will be moved to the rear of the adjacent fish and chip and pizza shops – will not be reduced.

The proposed works are also not expected to result in any new access points being created to the site via Deakin Avenue, while no alteration to the exiting egress point to Deakin Avenue is expected, according to the applicant.

Costs associated with the upgrade have been estimated at $50,000, and if allowed to proceed will transform the site into one of the region’s first drive-thru Subways. 

A second drive-thru Subway is currently being constructed in Benetook Avenue next to the existing McDonalds outlet, ABOVE. This project already has Council approval, and once complete will become Sunraysia’s fourth Subway franchise.

The application to include a drive-thru at the Fourteenth Street store, however, is not being embraced by nearby residents, with 11 objections received by Council so far.

According to a Council spokesperson, official submissions closed on Monday, however objections can still be made. The spokesperson also confirmed the matter will now be decided at a future Council meeting.

One of the objectors to the proposed works is Pinno’s Pizza co-owner, Pinno Sortino, who labelled the move as “ridiculous.”

“I’m not against progress, but this proposal is nothing short of ridiculous,” he said. “The site is too compact, and it’s too busy of an intersection. If this is allowed to go ahead it will be chaotic.”

Mr Sortino said that he disagreed with the applicant’s claims that the proposed works would not remove carparks from the site.

“There’s nine carparks adjacent to Subway which will be removed once the drive-thru is built,” he said. “By the time all the staff associated with my business, the fish and chip shop next door to us and Subway park their cars, there won’t be much room left for customers to park.”

According to the applicant, the proposed works will “modernise the exiting Subway business, and allow it to meet the needs of the community and surrounding uses.”

“The proposal is seen to improve traffic movements on the land, and upgrade the car-parking area,” the application currently before Council reads.

The works are also expected to improve traffic movement within the site, by limiting entry points and ensuring the traffic flows in an orderly fashion. As it currently stands, vehicles can enter the site via Deakin Avenue and Fourteenth Street, and park on the site facing both ways.

The proposal aims to force traffic to enter via Fourteenth Street and exit via Deakin Avenue. Access to the site via Deakin will remain, while vehicles will be prohibited from exiting via Fourteenth Street.

Car parking will be provided at the rear of the site – behind the existing Coral Sea Fish and Chips shop and Pinno’s Pizza – ensuring vehicles “enter and exit in an orderly fashion.”

Traffic signage will be installed so that vehicles leaving the drive-thru will give way to vehicles entering via Deakin Avenue.

According to the applicant, construction of a drive-thru facility will also “reduce the number of car-parking space required on the site,” as Subway customers who would have previously parked to access Subway will now be able to ‘drive through’.

Mr Sortino, however, disagrees, and believes the Fourteenth Street and Deakin Avenue intersection will not be able to handle the increased congestion.

“There’s only room for three cars in the left-hand turning lane from Fourteenth Street on to Deakin Avenue –  there will be cars lined up,” he said. “These changes will also hinder how our delivery drivers can exit the site, while also affecting the ability for rubbish trucks to enter and exit the site.”

Mr Singh, meanwhile, said that the move to construct a drive-thru at the Fourteenth Street site formed part of grander plan for the local franchise.

“The consumer is now on the go more than ever,” he said. “This is about making it easier and more convenient for our customers.”

Mr Singh said Subway was also seeking to construct a drive-thru Subway in Robinvale, with that application currently before Swan Hill Rural City Council. Should that application be approved, and the Fourteenth Street works approved, Mr Singh anticipates an additional 25 jobs will be created.

“We’re also looking at expanding into online catering, while also looking to branch into delivery as well,” he said.