Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s bus stops within The Waterfront plaza in Homestead will be discontinued next month, though riders will still be able to catch the bus nearby.

The transit authority in a news release said routing for the 53-Homestead Park, 53L-Homestead Park Limited, 57-Hazelwood, 59-MonValley, 61D-Murray Short and 64-Lawrence-Waterfront will be impacted when the changes go into effect Oct. 19.

Bus stops on Amity Street and Waterfront Drive will not be impacted, but the stops directly outside of The Waterfront’s Giant Eagle and Target stores will be cut, said property manager Carey Kann.

“It’s simply in response to traffic congestion in front of the stores,” he told TribLive Friday. “It’s kind of unusual to have buses go right along the front doors of businesses. Usually, they’re a little further away.”

Kann said buses stopping in front of the shops causes backups of cars and sometimes creates a “gridlock” of traffic.

U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, in a statement Friday called for the bus stops to stay.

“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,” Lee said.

“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.”

About 400 people use those two stops each weekday, Adam Brandolph, a transit agency spokesman, said.

Pittsburgh Regional Transit CEO Katharine Kelleman said the authority’s buses can ride on any public streets but must have permission from property owners to use private roads like those that wind through The Waterfront property.

She acknowledged the change may be a challenge for riders.

“You’re asking grandma to take their groceries and go 1,000 feet to another stop,” Kelleman said.

But, she told agency board members Friday during a meeting, the changes don’t go into effect for another three weeks.

“We have time to still work this out,” Kelleman said. “We have time to come up with a better solution.”

Kelleman did not offer any specifics.

Asked after the board meeting for details, Brandolph said, “Those are discussions we will be having with the property owner. Should we come to a resolution we will be sure to announce it publicly.”

Kann reiterated there will still be bus stops available near the property and said he believed the information the transit agency shared led some to believe there would be no bus access to the site at all.

“If someone wants the bus at the front door of Giant Eagle and that’s all they want, then we don’t have good news for them,” he said. “But there are bus stops that are not as convenient as that, but close.”

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