Friday, June 18, 1999
Mall walkers threaten boycott after hours reduced
BY JANET C. WETZEL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MIDDLETOWN — Dick Polleys has been walking and shopping at Towne Mall more than 10 years, since a triple bypass forced him to stay active. He may soon find a new place to do both.
Mr. Polleys, 73, is among at least 150 people from Middletown and surrounding communities who walk at the mall on Ohio 122 near Interstate 75 two to seven days a week. And many say they may boycott the stores there because management has cut their pre-opening walking hours in half.
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WALKERS WELCOME
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Representatives of other malls said mall walkers are not a problem.
• Tri-County Mall opens two hours early for its hundreds of walkers, and management has no serious concerns with liability and safety issues, said Shawn Niehaus, public relations representative.
• Kenwood Towne Centre doors open four hours early, and hundreds of walkers pour in daily.
“I don't know of any incidents or problems we've ever had with walkers,” said Susan Abernethy Frank, mall public relations and fashion consultant.
• Dayton Mall opens its doors three hours early for its 300-400 walkers.
Marketing Director Sandra Holzwarth said safety and liability always are a concern, but have presented no problems.
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This week management began opening the building at 9 a.m. for walkers, not 8 a.m., which some say has been the practice since the mall opened 22 years ago.
Other area malls have longer hours for walkers and said they've had no problems and see no reason to change.
The change at Towne Mall is necessary to avoid safety and liability problems, said Travis Farren, mall manager since January. He also said janitorial and maintenance work must be done before walkers are inside the mall.
Nonsense, said walkers, including Thelma Baty, 74, of Franklin, who gathered in the mall parking lot at 8 a.m. Thursday to walk and talk about their problem.
“Why did it take them 20 years to decide we're interfering with mall maintenance and cleaning?” said Mr. Polleys, who walks there five days a week. “This just seems unreasonable, arbitrary. We need this place.”
Many walkers say they stride around the mall for health reasons but love the socialization and the relationships they've developed, and one hour is not enough.
They say management is not considering the needs of the walkers, who are also cus tomers.
“They'll lose my business, you'd better believe it,” said Jan Teets, 61, a tutor in Middletown schools. “I have to go to work, so if I can't walk early, I can't walk. I spend a lot of money here. If this is not changed, I won't give this mall another dime.”
Virginia Johnson, 71, said the walking keeps her arthritis under control and supplies her shopping needs, but she'll go to Dayton Mall now.
Changes since the opening of the mall necessitated the unpopular adjustments, Mr. Farren said.
“Twenty years ago we didn't have as many maintenance issues,” Mr. Farren said. “And these days everyone is so lawsuit-happy, that's greatly changed. Mostly it's a safety issue for them. I don't want anyone injured. But it's also become a liability issue for the mall. This is not personal. We're not against them. We welcome them here.”
Mr. Farren said his people have tried to work around the walkers, but walkers often ignore barricades put up during maintenance work, putting themselves at risk.
Walkers insisted they stay out of workers' way and have not seen people ignore signs and barricades. By 9:30, shoppers start arriving, and they tend to get in each other's way, said Joanne Sauter, who said she was disappointed the hours were changed.
“I decided to let them know about it,” said Mrs. Sauter, who gave the mall a petition with 115 names she collected in two days.
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