HADLEY — Less than a week after the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority announced that it would suspend service to Mountain Farms Mall, the transit authority has turned back on that decision.
Paul Burns-Johnson, PVTA’s director of transit operations, put out a joint statement with manager Dan Hester of WS Development, which owns the mall, on Saturday saying the mall and PVTA have agreed to return the B43 bus stop in the “near future, once improvements to the stop are in place.”
There is no date yet for the return of service. They wrote, “we are still in the process of defining a longer-term solution.”
Last week, PVTA cited “roadway safety concerns” as the reason for no longer bringing riders to and from Mountain Farms. Instead, passengers would have to get off at the JC Penney at Hampshire Mall.
With 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, PVTA had decided to suspend service.
“We understand that many customers and employees utilize the PVTAS to access Mountain Farms and are working hard to maintain this important benefit to our community,” the statement reads.
Luis Fieldman can be reached at lfieldman@gazettenet.com