[Vision2020] Palouse Empire Mall rejects Public Transportation...

[Garrett Clevenger]

Thanks to all who commented on my original email.

The mall has decided to prevent the bus from making a stop there because 
people are parking their cars in the UI owned parking lot which allegedly 
keeps shoppers from being able to park there.

The problem with their reasoning is that there is still plenty of space to 
park.

When was the last time any body noticed that the mall parking lot was full?  
Maybe on days where they have car sales, but even then, there are places to 
park.

The parking lot is meant for cars to park in.  Why not use it to its 
capacity?

This parking lot is enormous.  It seems odd to kick the bus out because 30 
or 40 cars are being parked by bus riders.  At the very least, the stop 
could be at the Office Depot end of the lot, which always looks like there's 
plenty of room to park.

The amount of people the bus brings in daily to the mall is greater than 40 
people.  Those people would either not shop at the mall, walk or ride their 
bikes, or drive their cars instead, thus still use the parking lot for the 
same number or more of parking spaces.

Thus, if anything, the mall is benefiting by getting more shoppers to spend 
their money there and use less parking spaces total.

Public transportation is intended to lesson the need for parking lots.  
That's why UI and WSU support the bus, so they don't have to build more 
parking lots.

The mall should have encourged people to ride the bus to the mall instead of 
driving.  The mall should not have looked at the bus as a drain to them, but 
rather as an asset to bring shoppers in and as a a way to prevent more cars 
from being parked there.

The thing that saddens me most is that the mall management just doesn't see 
the value in public transportation.   They would rather have people 
contribute to traffic congestion than ride the bus to the mall.  They are 
unwilling to support a valuable community asset.

That seems short sighted and not the way to build a communtiy.

We should be encouraging the use of public transportation, not limit its 
routes.

Garrett Clevenger


----- Original Message -----
From: "Garrett Clevenger" <onewildearth at hotmail.com>
To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Monday, May 16, 2005 9:41 AM
Subject: [Vision2020] Palouse Empire Mall rejects Public Transportation...


>I regret to inform fellow bus travellers and public transportation
>supporters that the Palouse Empire Mall has decided to not let the
Wheatland
>Express bus (the one that transports between Pullman and Moscow) stop at
the
>mall anymore, effective June 1.
>
>The bus brings hundreds of shoppers to the mall from Pullman monthly (and
>many from Moscow, too) particularly students from WSU.  I imagine
thousands
>of dollars are spent there from shoppers who have no other way to get to
the
>mall except by bus.
>
>Everyone I've talked to about this is perplexed by the mall management's
>decision (they have not gotten back to me about why they decided this)
>though one reason I heard is because too many people are parking their
cars
>at the mall when they take the bus (considering how much room is left in
the
>parking lot and that the bus brings people who don't need to park, this is
>an insufficient reason)
>
>If I owned or worked at a store at the mall I'd be pretty upset that the
>mall management is basically saying they don't want bus rider business.
>
>I've been riding the bus since 1997 and have seen the mall hassle the bus
by
>moving the stop in the parking lot multiple times.
>
>This decision, however, is a shock to us riders and is pretty frustrating.
>Perhaps the Pullman rider shoppers will head to downtown Moscow instead,
but
>I bet they'll stick to shopping in Pullman, particularly if the super
>wallmart opens.
>
>This is bad not just for mall businesses, but for the bus because it
lessons
>bus ridership which is not good to insure its success.  Plus, having
>cross-pollination between the two towns is good for both communities.
>
>If you know mall people, please let them know.  Perhaps their clout could
>convince the mall management to keep the bus stop at the mall.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Garrett Clevenger
>
>http://www.icehouse.net/garrett
>
>"What are we doing to our Home?!:("