City Council considers taxi stand suggestions

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The East Lansing City Council was receptive to adding taxicab stands on Albert Avenue during peak hours at its Tuesday work session at City Hall, 410 Abbot Road.

Although no decisions were made Tuesday, the council took the Taxicab Task Force’s recommendations to convert the 100-200 block of Albert Avenue and the 300 block of Albert Avenue beginning at Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar, 360 Albert Ave., and ending across from the Michigan Flyer bus stop under advisement. The taxi stands would remain in operation from 6 p.m. until 3 a.m., giving people safe transportation options for the dinner rush and at the end of late weekend nights, council members said.

“From my standpoint, everything I have heard from the University Student Commission is there is a high level of appreciation for the fact that we are trying to accommodate more taxis to make it more convenient for the students to access the taxis,” Mayor Vic Loomis said.

Three taxi stands originally were placed on the 100-200 block of Albert Avenue but later were moved to M.A.C. The area, however, was too far from downtown and invited a dangerous walk for students, said Nicole Evans, East Lansing city clerk.

“Police had a lot of concerns about students having to walk a longer distance,” she said. “(Police) were concerned for (students’) safety.”

The 100-200 block of Albert Avenue can sustain nine taxi stands, and the six additional stations along the 300 block would raise the total to 15 on the street.

Two more taxi stands were suggested for the area across from Harper’s Restaurant & Brewpub, 131 Albert Ave.

Mayor Pro Tem Diane Goddeeris said making taxi stands a downtown staple will promote better decision making that could reduce behavior such as drunken driving and walking alone at night in poorly lit areas.

“If they’re there, people will use them. If they have to search then they often make a decision that might not be in their best interest,” she said. “If they get used to having them, seeing them there, and then that becomes the standard that they use them.”

But Loomis said making taxis available downtown only solves part of the problem. He said people often have difficulty flagging down a taxi for dorm-to-dorm or dorm-to-apartment travel.

City Manager Ted Staton said although he agreed there should be more taxi stands downtown, there is “no good place for a taxi stand.” Alternatives were considered — such as a stand behind the Grove Street Ramp and one in the alley that runs between Grand River Avenue and parking Lot 1 on Albert Avenue — but businesses and residents complained about congestion and access to parking.

Staton added that the proposed Albert Avenue taxi stands would force motorists out of the street’s metered parking, which is free after 6 p.m. But given the volume of residents who eat and shop in the area during the evening, he said Albert Avenue is one of the most feasible locations for taxi stands.

“We’re trying to accommodate additional cabs in parking spaces downtown,” Staton said. “So we’re going to push a few people who use those meters now off the street, hopefully to the ramps but maybe not.”

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