TRIP GENERATION: FAST FOOD FOR THOUGHT

A study is described of the traffic impacts of the interior renovations of an existing fast-food restaurant. The changes included replacing 15 child seats with 36 adult seats in an area formerly used as an indoor playground and party room. It was first noted that the renovation would have no imapct on the trip generating characteristics of the restaurant, and this was supported with observations. Available in-house data was used to develop the argument that the size of such an establishment or the number of seats are not the only factors, or even the primary ones that determine its trip generating potential. The article describes the trip generation hypothesis, and the regression analysis. The analysis and discussion presented in the article are intended to serve as a starting point for reevaluating trip generation methodology for the category of land uses that are referred to as 'high impulse generators.'