PVTA announces two‑year trial G47 route with multiple stops in Southampton; board raises safety and funding questions

The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority has planned a two‑year pilot of a new G47 route that will run from the Academy of Music in Northampton to Southwick Town Hall and include stops in Southampton, Select Board members were told on May 26.

A Select Board member described the initial stops as Big Y (the town’s primary boarding point), College Highway at Paisano’s/Lynn Drive (bank area), the College Highway/Pomeroy Meadow Road intersection, and College Highway/Maple Street near Town Hall. PVTA reportedly obtained a two‑year grant from MassDOT to test ridership and will coordinate with the Franklin Regional Transit Authority (FRTA) for connections to the senior center.

The board said PVTA initially proposed a stop near Moose Brook Road but moved that stop north to the bridge/sidewalk end after residents and board members raised safety concerns at the hill and curve where vehicles approach at speed. Officials said PVTA will revise printed schedules to include Southampton stops, post permanent stop signs/posts, and distribute flyers. PVTA plans to monitor ridership to determine whether the route continues and whether member communities will bear a regional assessment after the two‑year grant period.

Select Board members praised the service expansion as an experiment in regional transit access but asked staff to verify whether the first two years will impose no assessment on Southampton and to request frequency and schedule details from PVTA before public outreach.