Clogged arteries

California’s In-N-Out Burger chain might have been a better fit for Vivian Ingraham and Ludy Kostelecky.

Since Sonic Drive-In opened at Ruby Street and Sharp Avenue, the alley behind the two women’s homes has been taken over by a steady stream of fast-food fans willing to wait 10 minutes or more just to get into Sonic’s parking lot.

Ingraham, 72, and Kostelecky, 80, can now barely get to their garages on that alley.

Sonic employees and customers are using almost all the on-street parking in front of the women’s homes. The city didn’t pick up their garbage this week; Ingraham and Kostelecky suspect it’s because the garbage trucks couldn’t get into the alley.

“We have to wait in line to get to our own property,” said Kostelecky.

Spokane residents can’t seem to get enough of Sonic. The old-fashioned drive-in, complete with roller-skating carhops, has been so popular since it opened May 22 that it has created traffic issues from day one.

“When we were under construction, we had people coming by saying, ‘Oh, we’ve been waiting for you to come here. We’ve seen the ads,’ ” said Preston Hawkins who co-owns the franchise with his stepson Patrick Vollmer. It’s the Oklahoma-based chain’s first Washington restaurant.

The planned entrances are cordoned off because when the restaurant first opened, traffic was backing up onto Ruby and blocking the intersection at Sharp. To avoid that problem, the cars are now sent west on Sinto, south onto Division and then east into the alley, clogging it with traffic.

The line of would-be Sonic diners routinely fills the alley and spills onto Division Street, sometimes clogging the left lane of traffic all the way back to Mission Avenue.

Ken Kerr compared the scene during Wednesday’s lunch hour to the long lines that accompanied Krispy Kreme’s 2002 opening in the Valley.

“If people will wait in line for a doughnut, they’ll wait for a burger,” said Kerr, who was trying a Sonic hamburger for the first time.

The drive-in is now serving 1,300 to 1,500 customers each day, Hawkins said.

Hawkins said it’s unfortunate that Ingraham and Kostelecky are unhappy with the situation, but he makes no apologies for his store’s success.

“Whenever we see Vivian or Ludy, people make way for them to get out by holding cars,” he said

The traffic jams are hard to take after almost 50 years of unrestricted access to their property, Ingraham and Kostelecky said.

“They didn’t plan anything. They just built it and said to hell with the world,” said Ingraham. “They didn’t take us into consideration at all.”

The area, once residential, is now a major commercial center, and the two women’s homes are smack-dab between two of Spokane’s busiest thoroughfares, Ruby and Division, Hawkins said, adding, “I just don’t know how to bridge what used to be with what is.”

The city doesn’t have a plan to address the situation right now, although city employees have talked to the women and to Sonic representatives.

“It’s new, so we’re struggling with its popularity and newness,” said Engineering Services Director Tom Arnold. “We’re basically waiting to see if it will settle down a bit.”

Arnold said it’s primarily a development issue, not an engineering issue.

If the problem continues, further action will be taken, said Staci Lehman, a spokeswoman for the city’s transportation department.

Ingraham and Kostelecky hope the situation improves but worry it won’t.

Ingraham said a Sonic representative offered her money because of the impacts, but Hawkins said he’s never offered the women anything more than onion rings or milkshakes.

Both women said free fast food isn’t enough. They want their alley back.

“They tried to sweet-talk me so many times, I don’t trust them anymore,” said Ingraham.

While Hawkins said he’s sympathetic, Sonic’s customers have as much right to use the alley as anyone.

“I wish traffic wasn’t a problem for anybody,” he said. “But it doesn’t seem to be too big a problem for a lot of people.”