St. John's City Council is instituting a moratorium on fast food drive thru's that impact the safety of pedestrians and motorists. It was a unanimous vote after complaints about traffic stacking up in curb lanes on busy roadways. 

Mayor Dennis O'Keefe is convinced that a mishap is imminent . Councillor Keith Coombs says no matter what the business, motorists entering a lineup that extends into traffic are taking chances. Council will be looking to speak with business owners in the coming weeks and is also referring the matter to their police and traffic committee.

A fast-food restaurant at the centre of a move by the City of St.John's to ban drive-thrus has responded to the concerns.  In an email to VOCM News, Tim Hortons says they are continuously working on making their sites better to serve customers faster. The director of public affairs, Rachel Douglas, says all of their sites meet or exceed the city regulated drive thru stack, and that during peak periods they have on extra staff. She says they have taken steps to rectify some sites. For example, the Water Street west location is currently undergoing renovations to create a larger drive thru...the store will re-open this week. Douglas says the company will continue to work with the city to find solutions wherever possible to address traffic concerns.

The Consumer Group for Fair Gas Prices is predicting a hike in fuel prices this week. George Murphy says this past week's movement in crude oil numbers means the Public Utilities Board will likely have to use the "interruption formula" Thursday, and increase the price of all petroleum products.

He says heating and stove oil could go up by 5.4 cents a litre, gas by 6.5 cents a litre and diesel by about 7 cents a litre.

A charge against former Grand Falls-Windsor councillor Barry Oake for breaching an undertaking not to be in the company of anyone under the age of 18 without supervision has been withdrawn.  The matter was withdrawn by the Crown in Grand Falls-Windsor court this morning. 

Meanwhile Oake is still awaiting an appeal on his 22-month sentence on four counts of sexual assault.  The matter is scheduled to be presented to the court in the near future.  Oake was released from custody last month pending his appeal.