More than 400 Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus riders are caught in a struggle among the agency, The Waterfront complex, two major stores and three municipalities who police parts of the complex.
At issue is the location of two busy bus stops on private property, one outside the Target department store and the other outside the adjacent Giant Eagle grocery in the complex shared by West Homestead, Homestead and Munhall. PRT says the stops have about 800 on-and-off passengers every day, making them among the busiest in the Monongahela Valley corridor.
Right now, the stops are scheduled to be eliminated Oct. 19, with passengers sent two long blocks to stops on public property at a busy intersection at Amity Street.
Dangerous situation
Owners of The Waterfront say they have been trying to move the bus stops for about four years because the buses bunch on the private street there. That causes customers and others to try to cross the street between stopped buses to get to parking lots, creating a potentially dangerous situation for pedestrians and motorists, said Carey Kann, general manager for the complex.
“It’s just really dangerous for the cars, the buses, the people going to the parking lots,” he said. “We haven’t had any accidents yet, but it’s just a matter of time.”
Over several years, Kann said Friday, the complex has had a series of meetings with the participants and every time they seem to near an agreement for changes, one of the parties pulls out. PRT staff has been courteous and tried to work with the complex, Kann said, but PRT has standards and requirements for bus stops that are inflexible and make it difficult to reach an agreement.
When the latest potential deal fell apart a couple of weeks ago, The Waterfront ordered the bus stops to be taken off private property in the complex.
That has caused a rush of protests from riders, transit advocates and even U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, who say the change will cause undue hardship for transit riders who are elderly, disabled or just buying a lot of groceries.
With no other solution on the table, Kann said the complex is ready to move ahead this week with its alternative: building a ramp from the stores through the parking lot to a new bus stop near the McDonald’s restaurant on Waterfront Drive, which is public property. That plan isn’t ideal, he said, but patrons could ride on motorized shopping carts to that stop with packages rather than carry them to Amity Street.
“It’s not great, but it’s something,” Kann said. “It’s a solution for some people.”
Common problem
Amy Silbermann, PRT’s chief development officer, said staff that prepares schedules and sets up bus stops spends a lot of time dealing with shopping complexes. In many cases, a lot of their customers use public transit.
But shopping complexes often are a mixture of public and private roads, and owners can be picky about where — or if — they want bus stops on property they own. Individual store owners also may differ with the owners and PRT about the best locations for bus stops.
“With all of them, there are discussions about serious things — sometimes things they want, sometimes things we want,” she said. “We talk about them and usually work something out.”
Silbermann said The Waterfront initially notified the agency in May to close the Target and Giant Eagle stops “in short order.” The agency persuaded the shopping complex to wait until the next schedule change in October.
In the meantime, they reached an agreement that continues to allow bus drivers to park and take a break in an out-of-the-way location at the complex. They also are talking with the larger group about the stops and reached a point earlier this month where Kann thought they had a deal and wrote up agreements, but at the last minute someone — Kann declined to say who — wanted more changes and backed out.
That aborted deal would have allowed bus stops along the sides of the Target and Giant Eagle buildings instead of at the front. Silbermann said the agency puts a premium on getting stops as close as possible to groceries so riders don’t have to walk far with bags of food.
During a Friday afternoon visit, the Target stop was particularly busy. At least five buses pulled up within 20 minutes, and at least twice there were two in a row.
One waiting passenger, Justin Young of McKeesport, said he goes to The Waterfront a few times a month because he can get off in front of the stores, shop and get back on the bus easily when he’s done. That’s important because he has back issues that make it difficult to walk long distances.
“I think it would be an inconvenience” if the stops were eliminated, he said, and he would look for another place to shop.
In addition to the distance, walking to the new stops on Amity could be a challenge with groceries because the sidewalk in front of the stores is barely wide enough for pedestrians to go single file in one direction.
During Friday’s monthly PRT board meeting, riders and advocates lobbied for the stops to remain.
“You’re going to have seniors with disabilities walk with tons of grocery bags,” said rider Shawn Pastor. “You’re going to deprive them [of a place to shop]. We can’t have that.”
Chris Sandvig, executive director of Mobilify Southwestern Pennsylvania, called eliminating the stops “absolutely atrocious.”
Lee, who grew up across the Monongahela River from The Waterfront in Swissvale, said her office would try to help find a resolution to keep the bus stops.
“Removing bus stops from The Waterfront disregards the needs of thousands of riders — working people, seniors, people with disabilities, families and caregivers — who depend on this lifeline every single week,” she said in a statement.
“Forcing riders to walk across vast parking lots and unsafe roadways, often while carrying groceries, walking with children or navigating mobility challenges, is not only unjust but also dangerous.”
Kann said there is still time to work out an alternative solution to keep bus stops near the stores. Early Friday, the entity that caused the last potential deal to fail reached out to him and said it would be willing to keep working on the issue after the public outcry.
Kann said he will try one more time before proceeding with plans to build a path to a new bus stop at McDonald’s.
“We have to do something,” he said.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.