By Genine Hopkins
After praising the Harrison City Council for their hard work in creating a more vibrant downtown, Harrison resident Don Kolander – who lives in the neighborhood behind the location of the new Biggby Coffee – brought concerns about how increased traffic may affect his neighborhood.
“I’ve never seen the downtown Harrison area look so nice and its working in attracting new businesses and bringing more jobs, but I am slightly concerned about a potential increase in traffic due to the new Biggby location, and would like to see if I can get contact information for the owners,” Kolander told the council, “I understand they will be building a barrier between the back of the building and the backyards of the homes behind that to help reduce headlight glare, but I’m a bit more concerned about making sure our area isn’t used by drivers trying to avoid the main road.”
Kolander, whose family once owned the entire block that is now part of the the subdivision including East Lawn, running parallel to Old 127 behind Hang’s, the new Biggby, and Harrison Realty. Kolander also once served on the Harrison City Council and is currently the President of the non-profit Friends of Clare County Parks and Recreation.
Indeed the Fairview subdivision and its residents are not novices when it comes to increased traffic, since its location is across from the Clare County Fairgrounds, although that increased traffic is only several times a year as opposed to ongoing. Kolander also stated he understood the Biggby entrance and exit location both are on Business 127 a/k/a N. 1st street to locals.
City Manager Justin Cavanaugh took down Kolander’s information to forward to the proper people at the Biggby franchise.
