New late-night taxi stands coming to Fremont, downtown, Capitol Hill | Politics

Drinkers and other late-night revelers will soon have a dedicated place to catch a cab in three Seattle neighborhoods – downtown, Fremont and Capitol Hill.

On Nov. 29, Mayor Mike McGinn announced the locations of the five late-night taxi stands that are part of his eight-point Seattle Nightlife Initiative. The stands, which will restrict curb space to cabs-only between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. every night, will be located in Pioneer Square, Capitol Hill, Belltown, Pike Place and Fremont.

The project was originally announced last spring and included stands in Ballard and the University District. The project was delayed while the city did more outreach to neighbors and businesses and the stand locations adjusted.

During today’s unveiling of the Fremont stand, McGinn said the late-night taxi stands are a way to make sure Seattle’s great nightlife scene is safe and works for the neighborhood and people have a safe way to get home.

He said the city make sure they found spots that work for businesses far away from residential areas, and there was no real opposition to the plan.

Pete Hanning, owner of the Red Door in Fremont, said the neighborhood hosts a couple thousand people every weekend night, and the taxi stands are really going to help deal with those crowds.

“Something like this is going to be a big help,” he said. “I know I want to advocate for one in front of my business.”

Jessica Vets, executive director of the Fremont Chamber of Commerce said the late-night taxi stands will bring more people to the neighborhood, boosting business, and will make cabs more visible, letting people know they have another option for how to get home.

The five late-night taxi stands will be located at:

• The east side of First Avenue between Blanchard and Bell Street.
• The east side of First Avenue between Pike Street and Pine Street.
• The west side of Occidental between South Washington Street and Yesler Way.
• The south side of East Pike Street between 10th Avenue and Broadway.
• The north side of North 36th Street west of Dayton Avenue North.

The taxi stands are part of McGinn’s eight-point Seattle Nightlife Initiative to increase public safety, grow the economy and improve urban vibrancy.

In addition to transportation changes, which also includes later transit hours and next-day parking pre-payment, the Nightlife Initiative features changes to bar hours, noise ordinance enforcement, security training and more.