Editor’s Note: This story has been updated from a previously published version to include comments from Downtown Development District Executive Director Davis Rhroer.
A Capital Area Transit System official is speaking out about a lawsuit filed against the agency Tuesday by Secretary of State Tom Schedler, who is trying to force CATS to move its downtown hub away from outside the Old State Capitol on North Boulevard because of safety concerns and added congestion.
In a written statement, CATS Board President Donna Collins-Lewis says the agency is “very disappointed” with the latest turn of events.
“For the better part of 18 months, CATS has worked to find a downtown hub that is suitable for all interested parties,” she says. “This search comes after being removed from the North Boulevard Town Square hub that CATS grant money helped build, as well as being told CATS was not welcome at other sites.”
North Boulevard Town Square was built, in part, with federal grant money from the Federal Transit Administration.
The furor over a downtown hub location for CATS began in early 2014, when the system expanded to 30 routes and implemented a new hub system. In a timeline of events released this morning, CATS says its first downtown hub location—North Boulevard Town Square—proved unacceptable because it created traffic congestion.
Next, CATS says it was directed by the city-parish and the DDD to move across the street near the Manship Theater but that location was short-lived, as Manship officials objected to the bus fumes that were wafting into the building. DDD Executive Director Davis Rhorer disputes that account and says his agency did not direct CATS to move from Town Square to the Manship Site.
‘The DDD had absolutely nothing to do with that,” Rhorer says.
CATS then moved a third time—to the Old State Capitol, which was the location suggested by officials from the city-parish. But last fall, the agency was alerted by an attorney for the Secretary of State, who runs the Old State Capitol, that location was also problematic because of safety concerns over the buses and the many tourists and schoolchildren who visit the museum.
After meeting with various city agencies, CATS began looking for both temporary and permanent hub locations. A potential location on Seventh Street between Florida and Convention streets was met with resistance from business owner and churches. Another site—near the State Capitol Welcome Center on Third and Lafayette streets—was inexplicably vetoed by the city, even after state officials had suggested the location and CATS had already announced a date for the move.
CATS officials say it is frustrating that every potential location they’ve explored has been shot down, and that each unsuccessful venture has been paired with countless hours and wasted resources.
“CATS is working to find a suitable hub location that serves the needs of its customers as well as the City of Baton Rouge, but CATS cannot do this alone,” Collins-Lewis says. “The cooperation of the invested stakeholders is needed to make this successful.”
—Stephanie Riegel
