Could a dash for a morning coffee at a new Starbucks be a recipe for a traffic disaster in downtown Huntsville?

Members of the Huntsville Planning Commission believe that might be the case with a new Starbucks and other retail proposed at the “Gateway” to downtown just off Clinton Avenue.

“After everything that’s been proposed for this site, this does seem sort of underwhelming and disappointing for a major entrance into our downtown,” commission chairman Les Tillery said. “Traffic there is going to be a problem … Over time, it’s going to be a problem.”

At issue are the entrances to the Starbucks and other retail components being developed by Constellation, LLC, south of Clinton Avenue and west of Heart of Huntsville Drive, not far from the Constellation apartments that opened last year, and the Von Braun Center.

Access will not be provided for motorists or pedestrians coming off the ramp from Memorial Parkway and onto Clinton Avenue. It will instead be at two points on Heart of Huntsville Drive, which commission member and Huntsville Communication Director Kelly Schrimsher believes is too short a distance from the ramp off Memorial Parkway.

She also believes the entrance points are too close together.