Carl's Jr. planned for Bragg Creek stirs debate

A decision to allow a Carl's Jr. drive-thruin Bragg Creek is getting mixed reviews in the community.

Rocky View County initially denied an application to build the fast-food restaurant adjacent to the Esso station on Balsam Avenue near the entrance to the hamlet, but the development appeal board reversed that decision this week.

"I think if we get a fast food restaurant in here takes away a little bit of the ambiance of Bragg Creek," said resident Lorne Hammer.

The restaurant will be built where the gas station's unused mechanical bays currently sit.

But Hammer says the community needs a mechanic more than fast food restaurant.

"We're going back into Calgary to get our vehicles worked on. There's nowhere here even to get a flat tire fixed," he said.

Ralph Woessner, the property manager of the Bragg Creek shopping centre, says he had no luck finding an auto repair shop to put into the space.

"We need to draw more people. The businesses here are struggling a little bit, we have some vacancy and we're trying to bring people to the shopping centre," he said.

"We like the idea of having a Carl's Jr. because we think it will draw people from the highway into the shopping centre. People will come and they might stop a little bit longer than just driving through the intersection."

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