City

Chatt en Route: reimagining public transit stops in Chattanooga

July 9, 2021 • 
Brianna Williams
A 3-way image. On the top left, a rendering of the UTC Greenway stop. On the top right, a rendering of the Warner Park stop. Along the bottom, a rendering of the Food City stop.

Renderings of the 2 teams’ transit stop designs | renderings provided by Chattanooga Design Studio, graphic by NOOGAtoday

Table of Contents
🚏What is Chatt en Route?
🚏The presentation
🚏The designs
🚏What’s next?
Poll

What’s bussin’? The Chatt en Route transit stop design challenge.

🚏What is Chatt en Route?

In 2019, the Chattanooga Design Studio created a public growth action plan with a survey that resulted in the discovery that bus stops are some of the most vibrantly active places in Chattanooga’s innovation district.

This finding eventually resulted in Chatt en Route, a project that reimagines local transit stops — aka, piloting, testing, and refining a way to recreate transit stops.

Other aspects of the project include the Patten Porch Project + the installation of new Market Street bus stop seating.

🚏The presentation

Yesterday, a presentation took place to share 2 design concepts for transit stops + allow community members to provide input and ask questions.

The 2 designs are created to be modular, so they can be configured to work in various conditions and areas.

🚏The designs

Design 1

Stop locations: Warner Avenue between Holtzclaw + the McCallie bridge; UTC Greenway between UTC + Yellow Deli

Rendering of the first transit stop design, showcasing stops that feature X and + shaped seats and tree-like sheltering.

Rendering + layout of the first group’s design at Warner Park. | Photo provided by Chattanooga Design Studio

Key designs elements

  • A bus stop that is part of the sidewalk + claims space
  • Movable ✖️ and ➕ shaped seating that allows transit users to sit as close to people as desired
  • Canopies featuring a steel roof plane fit for solar panels + vertical fins that diffuse the sun and shed water
  • Option for electronic charging stations along the steel “trunks” of the shelters
  • Traveling art projects that could move along transit stops

Design 2

Stop locations: St. Elmo Food City stop on top of the hill; Parkridge Hospital stop on McCallie Avenue

Rendering of a bus stop by Food City showing the stop's wooden seating, vegetation, and boxy design.

Rendering + layout of the second group’s design at Food City | Photo provided by Chattanooga Design Studio

Key design elements

  • Wifi + charging stations
  • Spaces for multi-modal transportation (ie., bikes)
  • Incorporating native or seasonal vegetation
  • Kaleidoscope artwork by local artist Richard Foster
  • Folding benches + mounted, bar-style surfaces to create more space
  • Pedestrian safety measures (HAWK signals, speed tables, etc.)

🚏What’s next?

The goal is to eventually pilot a transit stop design at one of the locations. Currently, you can learn more, share feedback, and continue checking in on the project at Chatt en Route’s website.

Poll