With thousands of workers daily commuting from Bradley County to Chattanooga, planners are looking at bus and ridesharing services that would offer a new transportation link.
Aimed at cutting traffic congestion on Interstate 75 and improving air quality by trimming car trips between Bradley and Hamilton counties, some $1.7 million in federal and Cleveland, Tenn., funds would go into the proposed effort, officials said Tuesday.
Volkswagen plant and other Enterprise South industrial park workers from Bradley could use the buses and ridesharing to travel from a proposed new transit hub in downtown Cleveland, Tenn., to their jobs in Chattanooga, said Greg Thomas, the city of Cleveland's planning director.
Also, at Enterprise South, riders could connect with CARTA and go to other locations such as the Hamilton Place area, he said.
"It could help those at Enterprise South," he said. "People would be able to go to other locations in Chattanooga."
Gary Farlow, the Cleveland-Bradley Chamber of Commerce chief, said he has seen estimates that 4,000-5,000 people commute to Hamilton County daily. There are also many who travel from Hamilton to Bradley to work, he said.
"I've had a lot of conversations with the Thrive 2055 folks about commuting patterns," Farlow said about the regional planning effort. "We've talked about reducing cars on I-75."
Lisa Maragnano, CARTA's executive director, said she hopes the initiative is a catalyst to do more with other agencies in the region.
"There's no downside," she said. "I'm hoping this is a tease that people will take a look at and do more of this."
Thomas said the transportation initiative would create a Cleveland-Chattanooga Commute Hub at the old Woolen Mills property in downtown Cleveland at Third and Church streets.
A proposed park and ride lot would be built as part of a larger effort to redevelop the former mill site, he said.
Thomas anticipated that Cleveland's transit system could connect at the lot with the proposed new bus service into Hamilton County, which would make multiple trips daily.
People who were ridesharing in their personal vehicles also could park at the site, he said.
If the project gets state approval, service could start next year, Thomas said.
According to planners, the project would receive $1.35 million in federal money coupled with $334,000 in Cleveland funds, he said.
The money would be used to construct facilities in Cleveland, including the parking lot, and for acquiring buses. Also, the funds would pay for the operating cost, though the bus trips would charge a fare, Thomas said.
Farlow said he doesn't know how many Bradley County residents work at VW or Amazon at Enterprise South, but he's sure there are "quite a few."
Also, he said, the transit hub would help redevelop the Woolen Mills site and potentially the old Whirlpool plant property nearby.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.