<p>This topic has just come up here, and it's been a long time for me, so:</p>
<p>Let's say you're living in Collegetown, without a car.</p>
<p>Where would you go to buy:
-pharmacy-type stuff: eg toothpaste, contact lens solution, etc.
- women's clothing- pants, coats, sweaters; NOT college logo stuff
- groceries- I remember there was a grocery store someplace, I assume it's still there?</p>
<p>The bus system runs thru collegetown to downtown no doubt, do people utilize that much, for shopping? Is there also a (usable) bus between collegetown and the pyramid mall? Or whatever the options are these days.</p>
<p>Are prices in Collegetown grossly inflated?</p>
<p>"-pharmacy-type stuff: eg toothpaste, contact lens solution, etc."</p>
<p>"- groceries- I remember there was a grocery store someplace, I assume it's still there?"</p>
<p>Wilson Farms</p>
<p>"Are prices in Collegetown grossly inflated?"</p>
<p>They're pretty inflated</p>
<p>"Is there also a (usable) bus between collegetown and the pyramid mall?"</p>
<p>I believe so, check the TCAT bus schedule.</p>
<p>There is a bus that goes to the mall on a fairly frequent basis. I didn't use it too often...but it came in handy for trips to Target.</p>
<p>The prices in Collegetown are fairly high....I only used Wilson Farms when I needed to replace something immediately.</p>
<p>yes route 30 picks up along the sidewalk in front of stella's (i think it's stella's) every half hour...</p>
<p>drops you back at the swartchz(sp) center</p>
<p>Monydad - if the grocery store in college town you are thinking of is IGA it isn't there anymore...there is a much smaller "convenience" store that doesn't have much in my opinion.</p>
<p>first year students get free bus passes I believe and there is a Target at the Mall and a few clothing stores - "The Shops at Ithaca Mall" I found a directory on line</p>
<p>Further away is a Wegman's grocery, Bed Bath And Beyond, Home Depot.</p>
<p>The Commons has a directory also - independent stores -</p>
<p>There is a bus that goes to Wegmans....I never used it...but I had friends who did use it tell me that it was a pain because you'd have to make a transfer along the way.</p>
<p>The bus that goes to the mall also stops by Tops.....so if you'd rather go to Tops instead of Wegmans there is that option.</p>
<p>Yeah, thanks, it was the IGA I was thinking of. Kind of surprising they don't have at least something equal to that anymore; there are way more people living there now.</p>
<p>So if they want to buy pharmacy-type stuff they have to take a bus someplace far away. Kind of a PIA. Completely inadequate, actually, when you think about it.</p>
<p>Where is "Ithaca Mall"? Is that different than Pyramid mall? Is there nothing of this nature downtown or on the Commons that might be quicker to get to?</p>
<p>Partly why I don't remember all this- besides general senility, and the fact that it's all changed now anyway- is because my last couple years there I had a car, and I went all over the place. It made a humongous difference.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Where is "Ithaca Mall"? Is that different than Pyramid mall? Is there nothing of this nature downtown or on the Commons that might be quicker to get to?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The Pyramid Mall is rebranding itself so it is now "The Shoppes at Ithaca Mall"...or something along that line. </p>
<p>Like memphismom said...the Commons is mostly small, independent shops. I don't think there is a CVS or Walgreens type store near there.</p>
<p>it isn't really taking the bus "far away" - it is about a 10 min bus ride I hear to Target - and it is kind of nice to get off campus once in a while - I've moved freshmen in 3 times now and this past year show tons of kids sitting waiting for the bus with huge bags of stuff they got at Target...</p>
<p>mm, I imagine you're right, my problem is : that mall was built while I was there, and I thought of it as being, for all practical purposes, on Mars. Who knows what public transport was like back then. But, even with the car, I never went there. I managed to get everything I needed just by walking around Collegetown, when I lived there (though I don't recall how/ where). So that's why to me, having to take a bus to Pyramid Mall seems like a bigger deal, by comparison.</p>
<p>But then again, maybe they never had this stuff right there, and I just don't remember..</p>
<p>i buy all my stuff at pyramid mall mostly in target. i drop by some of the other stores too sometimes</p>
<p>yes, I remember the protests against the building of the mall - how it was going to ruin Ithaca etc. my husband (then bf) worked at the sporting goods store on the Commons...(it was across from Chanticleer - ) It is closed. There dept store I registered for china and pots and pans is now a parking garage. sigh. there are actually now about three malls together out on Triphammer - my d never ever rode public transportation in our home city but she has in Ithaca out to Target.<br>
I agree that it is sad that there is no grocery in College town but there are few independent stores anymore - and that's what IGA stood for - Independent Grocery Association...if you student signs up of r a meal plan they will also get BigRedBucks which they can use at the on campus convenience store for snacks,some decent food items, bottled water, chai tea etc...</p>
<p>Now that you mention it, I do recall they had protests about the mall. Though, as an insensitive and transient college student I didn't really pay much attention.</p>
<p>Based on the rest of your comment, it would seem perhaps the protesters had a point.</p>
<p>There is still a reasonably priced co-op on the Commons that I would frequently run to if I just needed to pick up milk, eggs, or fresh vegetables. Then again, I lived closer to the Commons than your average Cornell student, living below Stewart Ave. will change your worldview a bit.</p>
<p>greenstar.coop</a> - GreenStar Oasis</p>
<p>I actually think retail in downtown Ithaca will make a comeback as more and more condos/apartments develop in the area. I think already they are adding around 125 units to the area over the next year, and the West End is gentrifying nicely as well. Still, for anybody with a car, it is hard to beat Wegman's.</p>
<p>The biggest blow to Collegetown is that the drug store closed a couple of years ago:</p>
<p>Collegetown?s</a> Kinney Drugs Closes; Residents Concerned | The Cornell Daily Sun</p>
<p>Green Star was fantastic....they had the greatest bread and black pepper coated goat cheese.</p>