HADLEY — Pioneer Valley Transit Authority buses, which have typically dropped passengers off at both Route 9 malls, are temporarily suspending service to Walmart and other stores at Mountain Farms Mall following the recent reconfiguration of the shopping center’s parking lot.
Beginning Friday, PVTA announced that the B43 buses would no longer bring riders to and from Mountain Farms due to what the agency terms “roadway safety concerns.” Instead, passengers are being encouraged to get off at the JC Penney at Hampshire Mall.
The move is forcing some riders to cross Route 9 and South Maple Street, both busy thoroughfares, to get to Mountain Farms.
“PVTA is working to return to the Mountain Farms Mall as soon as the safety concerns can be remedied” a statement on the PVTA website reads.
Paul Burns-Johnson, PVTA’s director of transit operations, said Monday that the decision came after mall owner W.S. Development Inc. made changes to the plaza’s parking lot in advance of the openings of L.L. Bean, 110 Grill and Five Guys Burgers and Fries in new buildings along Route 9.
“The changed stop is the result of a redesign of the parking lot that the PVTA believes has made the stop less viable, particularly for riders with mobility challenges,” Burns-Johnson said.
The mall developer is also renovating an empty building along South Maple Street where Manny’s Appliances was before it moved to the Hampton Inn Village Shops on Route 9.
Burns-Johnson added that PVTA is negotiating with mall management to implement a solution that will get riders to the shopping center while keeping them safe.
On Monday, some passengers were getting off at the Hampshire Mall stop and then walking across South Maple Street to get to Mountain Farms stores.
Hadley Senior Center Director Suzanne Travisano said she has not heard any complaints from senior citizens about the change, but noted that there is a growing number of elders, many of whom do not drive.
Recently, Travisano said, she has spoken to PVTA about how to improve access to buses for senior citizens who live at Windfield Senior Estates, near the Amherst town line. They have difficulty getting to buses due to no crosswalks out to Route 9, or a crosswalk to get to the north side of the highway to pick up the bus heading to the malls.
Beginning Sept. 5, Hadley Senior Center will operate a van Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for medical appointments and other purposes. Shopping trips will be Mondays from 10:30 a.m. to noon. A supplemental grant with assistance from PVTA would expand this service to all weekdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in January.
“This will help mitigate some of that issue, at least for seniors,” Travisano said.
Long term, there has been consideration of eliminating the internal stops at both malls and replacing them with stops at the edge of the state highway.
Last fall, riders faced a similar adjustment at the Big Y Supermarket on University Drive in Amherst, with the bus stop moved from the storefront to one about 400 feet away. The change occurred when the property manager determined that large buses could not safely navigate the narrow rows of parking at the site. The change led to complaints because customers at both Big Y and the nearby Stop & Shop on Route 9 had places to keep out of the elements and minimal walking before boarding the buses.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
