The intersection of Third and Lafayette streets near the State Capitol is the proposed location for a new downtown bus hub. Capital Area Transit System CEO Bob Mirabito and city-parish officials have been working for several months to find a suitable location for the hub and think the new spot will work, according to CATS spokesperson Amie McNaylor. Implementation of the new location should be complete by July, she says.
Mirabito has been searching for a hub site for downtown since shortly after CATS unveiled its new route system in March of last year. That’s because the original hub site on North Boulevard, near the Old State Capitol, turned out to be a poor choice due to heavy traffic and congestion in the area.
In November, CATS and city-parish officials narrowed the list of potential new hub sites down to three, including the site at Third and Lafayette.
Dozens of buses pass through the downtown hub every day. Though McNaylor could not provide a specific number, she says 11 different routes, each making several trips daily, use the downtown hub. Mirabito will update a CATS planning committee of the proposed change at a meeting Friday afternoon.
—Stephanie Riegel
