Austintown WRTA Bus Will No Longer Go Into Walmart Lot

[jay]

I shopped at the Cornersburg Sparkle Market today.  Two Sparkle shopping carts were next to the bus shelter.  I assume one or more shoppers left the carts there.
Also, a woman using a Sparkle motorized cart was parked outside the bus shelter while she waited for her bus to
arrive.  Before the bus ever arrived, a Sparkle Market employee retrieved the two carts along with other carts in the parking lot.

A bus rider with multiple bags of groceries probably isn't going to leave the bags at the shelter or at the curb while they take a cart back to the store.

At the Austintown Walmart lot, shopping carts will now end up at the curb area along Mahoning Avenue. 

The Cornersburg Sparkle  Market provides four motorized shopping cart for shoppers with disabilities.  The carts are located in the lobby.

[Why?Town]

After reading the rant I just posted, I realized that I also heard people wondering if Meijer would get it's own stop.

If it wasn't for Goodwill being in the Walmart plaza I'd think that Meijer could have ended up being the furthest west WRTA would bother with for quite a while.

[Why?Town]

I don't know if it's true or not but I heard that this was "needed" because too many carts were being left at the stop itself.

"Needed" in parentheses, mainly because someone felt the "need" to do something without the ability to realize that they'll now "need" to gather up and return those carts from a different stop that's much farther away.

Seems very similar to 95% of city government's "needs" and "feelings"

[jay]

FYI

https://www.wrtaonline.com/2025/03/11/wrta-bus-shelter-removed-and-bus-stop-location-changed-at-austintown-walmart-location/

This plaza was a popular destination.  Riders will now have to stand by the curb on Mahoning Avenue to board the bus returning to Youngstown.