Residents in the Fales Road neighborhood off Hope Street know all too well that if you have to go out at certain times of the day, you’d better not be in a hurry. 

And if you have to turn left onto Hope Street, you might as well pack a lunch.

Wait times as long as five and even 10 minutes just to get out of the neighborhood are not the exception; they are the norm, especially in the afternoon, according to several residents who have just one exit out to Hope Street from the 13-road residential neighborhood with some 250 homes.

“It’s just a really, really busy intersection,” said Fales Road resident Ron Hofeldt. “Whether you’re going left or right, it’s real tough to get going.”

“You’re dependent on people stopping to let you out,” added Deah Hofeldt.

Bristol Zoning Board of Review meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 6, at 7 p.m.

Fales Road is directly across the street from the Defiance Fire Station and Gooding Plaza, just south of the Hope Street - Gooding Avenue intersection. Traffic frequently backs up at the busy intersection, blocking Fales Road and the driveway in front of the fire station. When a driver stops to turn into the Gooding Plaza entrance on Hope Street, things really get congested.

The frustrating situation will only get worse, residents say, if the owner of the Dunkin’ Donuts in Gooding Plaza has his way and is approved to build a new, free-standing Dunkin’ Donuts directly in front of the existing store. Owner Christopher Prazeres, of Seekonk, Mass., is petitioning the town Zoning Board of Review for a special use variance to build an 1,100 square-foot Dunkin’ with a drive-thru between the fire station and BankNewport. The Zoning Board is expected to take up the issue during its meeting Tuesday, Sept. 6 at 7 p.m.

The main motivation for the free-standing building is to add the drive-thru the current location lacks, Mr. Prazeres said.

The drive-thru is also the main objection of area residents who say allowing drivers to get their caffeine fix without even leaving the car — and the more visible location right on Hope Street — will only entice more people to turn in the Hope Street entrance, exacerbating an already untenable situation.

“It’s so dangerous up here, it’s ridiculous,” said Fales Road resident Nick Conti. “It will definitely make it worse with the drive-thru.”

A traffic study on the proposed new Dunkin’ Donuts confirms residents’ fears. The study, conducted by civil and environmental engineers Gordon R. Archibald, Inc., determined that adding a drive-thru would significantly increase traffic to the building. 

During a traffic count on a Thursday morning last December, traffic engineers estimated there were 109 car trips (55 in, 54 out) at Gooding Plaza between 7:45 a.m. and 8:45 a.m., deemed to be peak time. Based on sales data from a similar Dunkin’ Donuts in Warren, the study anticipates the drive-thru would add 78 new trips, for a total of 187 trips (94 in, 93 out).

Despite the increased trips, Gordon Archibald engineers determined the impact on traffic would be minimal. Wait times at the Hope Street-Gooding Avenue light would only increase an average of half a second per car, the report indicates. Backups on Hope Street wouldn’t be much worse, as only three more cars per hour would be turning left into the plaza, the engineers estimate.

And the study didn’t even account for the busy time of day, according to Barbara Contente, a Westwood Road resident whose husband has started a petition of area residents opposing the restaurant. 

“Don’t leave after 3 in the afternoon,” Ms. Contente said, noting the petition had more than 100 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon. “You can’t get out of the street now. It’s unbelievable anyone would think to do that.”

In addition to the congested intersection, there is a yellow blinking light in front of the fire station, and a bus stop on each side of the road. Plus, with classes back in session, school buses stop along the stretch of road, worsening traffic there.

“There are so many factor already confounding drivers; you add more and it’s just going to make it worse,” Mr. Hofeldt said. “From a business perspective, I understand. From a community perspective, it’s not a safe thing.”

In addition to the traffic problems for residents, residents have expressed concern for the Defiance Fire Company, whose volunteer firefighters park where the new Dunkin’ Donuts is proposed. However, Fire Chief Michael DeMello said there would be no issue.

The residents are quick to point out that they are not against building a new Dunkin’ Donuts. They just don’t think it should be in that location, which is smaller than Zoning laws allow for a drive-thru restaurant, necessitating a Zoning variance Tuesday night. Some have suggested relocating the proposal to another part of Gooding Plaza, where there is more open space, perhaps near the People’s Credit Union on the eastern end of the plaza.

“We are not against this business,” said Fales Road resident Vassil Zlatarski. “We’re grateful for business. But this building will be absolutely the wrong place.”