Get some walking shoes, if you take the CARTA bus to Hamilton Place mall.
Because come late August, the bus won’t drop passengers off right at the mall’s doorstep between Sears and Belk.
Instead, Hamilton Place’s owner, CBL & Associates Properties Inc., has called for a new bus stop to be built in the parking lot about 400 feet from the mall entrance between the two Dillard’s stores.
The bus stop is being moved because of construction work scheduled to start at the Sears end of the mall, which CBL bought from the cash-strapped retailer in January. But CBL wants to make the bus stop change permanent.
“It is being moved to accommodate the Sears redevelopment project,” CBL spokeswoman Stacey Keating said via email. “We are evaluating a number of redevelopment scenarios that could feature a variety of elements and layouts for the site. Since the plans are preliminary and fluid, it makes sense to consider a new permanent location outside of the redevelopment site.”
While Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation officials weren’t critical of CBL at CARTA’s board meeting Thursday morning, they were concerned that the 400-foot walk might reduce ridership on CARTA’s Route 4. The mall will create a well-lit path through the parking lot in between curbs, said CARTA Executive Director Lisa Maragnano. But the path won’t be covered or sheltered from the elements.
“It’ll be interesting to see if there’s an effect on our ridership,” CARTA board member John Bilderback said. “I expect [ridership] to be less.”
Route 4 is the bus service’s busiest route, and it serves two malls: Hamilton Place and Eastgate Town Center. Route 4 buses come every 15 minutes on weekday afternoons, which is CARTA’s most-frequent schedule.
“Last year, we brought about 60,000 people to [Hamilton Place],” Maragnano said.
Route 4 already has lost riders, CARTA officials say, because Eastgate had CARTA move its bus stop about a football field’s length away from the door. Eastgate officials said the CARTA buses were damaging Eastgate Loop Road, the privately owned road that encircles the mall.
Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu@timesfreepress.com or www.facebook.com/MeetsForBusiness or on Twitter @meetforbusiness or 423-757-6651.