Mall adopts new policy for kids

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor

SPRINGFIELD The oldest shopping mall in the area is joining the largest mall with a revision of its policies regarding young visitors.

The management of Eastfield Mall announced last Tuesday that it will be implementing a new "Youth Escort Policy" (YEP) on Sept. 5 at 5 p.m.

YEP stipulates that after 5 p.m., every child age 15 and under will need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian 21 years of age or older. The policy is for the common areas of the Mall, including the parking areas, and requires adults to maintain visual contact with the children. Stores with a separate outside entrance may allow unaccompanied children in, if it is allowed by the individual store's policy.

Mall General Manager Arlene Putnam said the policy would be in effect every day and those unaccompanied children will be asked to call their parents from the mall security office. Putnam said that children who are dropped off at Showcase Cinemas will be asked to exit the theater complex through its own doors rather than through the Mall.

"We're not going to make this a militant thing," Putnam said. She said the motivation for the program revolved around providing a safe environment for every Mall visitor, including children and teens. YEP was not a reaction to any problem with crime, she added, as the Mall has not had such problems.

Jillian Gosselin, the marketing director of the mall, explained to Reminder Publications that this new policy is not a reaction to the one announced by the Holyoke Mall, which bans unaccompanied teens and children under the age of 18 on weekends. Gosselin said that the Merchant Association at the Mall had been considering a new policy for some time.

Putnam added that the plan has been in the making since the beginning of the last school year.

According to the press release issued Tuesday, YEP was the product of not only meeting with storeowners, but also researching the attendance policy of shopping centers across the country. Such polices have resulted in increased sales at other malls.

Putnam said she is not concerned about teens coming to Eastfield Mall who cannot go to Holyoke Mall unaccompanied. She said they are welcome to shop, but if they plan just to hang out at the Mall, they will be asked to leave.