JUNCTION, St Elizabeth — Residents and at least one political representative in this booming south-central town are grateful for the increase in commercial activities particularly in the past two weeks with the opening of a KFC outlet.

There is, however, great concern that the lack of a drive thru has resulted in crowding, as customers flock the restaurant daily and disregard physical distancing guidelines.

Guidance counsellor at BB Coke High School here, Sandra Edwards, told the Jamaica Observer that a drive thru is well needed for crowd control.

“KFC Junction is a welcoming idea. We have been longing for KFC in Junction for years. My biggest concern is the crowd control with the rising COVID cases. It is a constant crowd there, once it opens right through until it closes the crowd is constant and people are not social distancing,” she said.

“… One of the good things that I see they do is that they sanitise frequently inside. I think a drive thru would minimise the crowd that is there and would give easier access to people who don’t want to be a part of the crowd. I think not having a drive thru deters some people from going there also,” she added.

Brand manager at Restaurants of Jamaica (ROJ), operators of the KFC franchise, Andrei Roper, in responding to questions asked by the Sunday Observer, said there were no immediate plans for a drive thru.

“KFC Junction is equipped with a full lobby area where customers can purchase carry-out meals, as well as a dine-in section, which will be operational once the Government COVID-19 protocols permit this. Although there are no immediate plans for a drive thru at KFC Junction, customers can take advantage of KFC’s carry-out option and still enjoy the full KFC experience,” he said.

“We make every effort to enforce all COVID-19 protocols at KFC Junction and at all ROJ restaurants. The support has been overwhelming as expected. We are happy to finally be able to service the Junction community and surrounding communities in time for the festive season and beyond,” Roper added.

Councillor for the Junction Division in the St Elizabeth Municipal Corporation, Cetany Holness, said the fast food restaurant was booming in the town.

“The drive thru is highly critical at this time…There is a crowding problem there in terms of the line, because there is no control. There is nobody to say social distancing. The long line is a challenge, because since it opened that KFC outlet is booming and it is something which I predicted,” he said.

“I told Tina Matalon [ROJ marketing director] that it is the best choice they ever made in terms of KFC anywhere in Jamaica, because the people from the southern side of the parish love KFC dearly,” he added.

He is urging ROJ to negotiate with the owner of a property which neighbours KFC to build a drive thru.

He disclosed that more commercial buildings are set for construction.

“… As KFC opens in the morning, the line is there, so it is highly critical. We welcome KFC wholeheartedly on the southern side and we are glad that they took the decision to [invest] here. There are other establishments that will follow because this town of Junction is developing fast,” he said.

“Nine new plazas have been built in recent months and based on what I am hearing another five to six are coming pretty soon,” he added.

With increased business comes traffic congestion which Holness believes can be controlled by a traffic light for the town.

“If you come into Junction you can hardly get through the town and that is the reason for many years I have been calling for a traffic light in the town of Junction to sort of regulate the traffic, so that the commuters can move more freely,” he said.

“The congestion in the town right now is posing a challenge. Where the intersection is to turn to districts like Bull Savannah, there is a challenge right there because you have a three-way road right there,” he continued.

Holness said his calls for the traffic light have been ignored.

“I have been calling for a traffic light to be placed there for the past 10 years…. especially with KFC, it means that we have more traffic coming into the town, because people from as far as Alligator Pond find it easier to come to Junction than to go to Mandeville or Santa Cruz,” he added.