Victor, N.Y. - Remember the winter storm in 2008 a few days before Christmas?
It helped create a perfect storm of holiday shoppers trying to get out of Eastview Mall on a Saturday evening.
Some people said they waited hours to get out of the mall parking lot.
Eastview Mall management responded with a shuttle service the next year. It kicks into place again this Friday for Black Friday.
It will run every weekend between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The last day for the shuttle is the day after Christmas.
If you want to take the shuttle, drive toward the Regal Movie Theater. Pull into the movie theater lot and then onto into a huge lot behind it. It can hold about 500 cars.
The shuttle will pick you up there and take you to the food court.
Eastview General Manager Mike Kauffman said the shuttle might be able to take you to other mall entrances. "The shuttle driver will assist in getting packages on board and off of the shuttle as well," he added. "We really try to be as service oriented as we possibly can."
And there is a perk for riding the shuttle. You will get a coupon for a hot drink, most likely at a coffee shop in the mall.
The shuttle runs continously from one hour before the mall opens to one hour after it closes. Kauffman says the average wait time is between three and ten minutes.
When it comes to leaving the mall, Kauffman suggested anyone who is heading west back to the east suburbs or Rochester to take a right onto Route 96. The on-ramp to 490 West is only about a quarter mile away.
That on-ramp has been there for 7 or 8 years. The mall hopes this is the year it becomes more popular.
On Black Friday, Eastview Mall opens at 6 a.m., but about 55 of the 170 stores will open at 12 a.m.
In response, most restaurants in the food court will be opening at midnight as well. Last year, only a few were and there were long lines for food.
The Ontario County Sheriff's Office is also reminding people not to leave valuables in their car. Last week alone in Farmington dozens of cars were rummaged through.
Many of them were unlocked. Sheriff Phil Povero added you can always ask a deputy or mall security to escort your car when at Eastview Mall.
