Milwaukee used to have taxi stands Downtown (newsstands, too! -ed.), but now there seems to be only one, in front of the Intercontinental Hotel on Kilbourn and Water. There is also one on North Avenue in front of the East Library but it could use higher traffic and could be larger.

What that means is if one can't catch a cab at a stand, or flag one down on the street, one has to wait at a bar or some other locale for a ride -- not exactly what some want when a drunk is retching about or making uncomfortable advances on a drinking night.

The City of Madison has seen the light and started taxi stand service on University Avenue.

"Well-placed and frequently serviced taxi stands have been shown to reduce concentrations of intoxicated patrons and improve patron safety by reducing the opportunity for crime," says Madison Mayor David Cieslewicz.

Well put. Recently, Seattle developed several late-night taxi stands near its entertainment district through the "Last Call" Public Health Department initiative. Madison's plan is a public-private partnership between the city and its three cab companies. The stands will operate from midnight to 3 a.m.

Not only does Milwaukee need more taxi stands, in a truly big city, one can flag down rides, too.

Hard at Work Until the End: City of Milwaukee taxpayers should be rest assured that their elected officials were hard at work right up to the end of their terms. The Common Council scheduled the last meeting of its term on Wednesday -- a mere five days before the council switches hands. The big inaugural party takes place April 15.

It's an opportunity for the council to finish some work before facing the uncertainty of what the two new members of the council would do. One item is Police Chief Ed Flynn's desire to reorganize the department's command structure, which was sent back to him for further review late last month and was scheduled for a special hearing Wednesday morning.

Given the coughs echoing around the chambers at Wednesday's meeting, it's a good thing the body is adjourned.

A Smoking Ban Grenade: Here's the latest grenade tossed into the smoking ban debate -- smoking bans might inadvertently cause increased amounts of driving accidents. Two state researchers published a study in the Journal of Public Economics suggesting that smokers will drive longer distances to drink in taverns that allow smoking, thus making them statistically more likely to get into an accident.

Chad Cotti, one the co-researchers, suggested that non-smokers driving further to find a non-smoking place to hang could face the same risk.

"At first it was quite startling," Cotti told the press of the findings.

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9 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review.

Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by MILWIRISH on April 14, 2008 at 11:41 a.m. (report)

CABS IN MILWAUKEE ARE BAD NEWS. YOU NEED EXACT ADDRESS OF PICK UP N DROP OFF, CABS DO NPT SERVICE TAVERNS, THERE IS NOT EVEN A CAB STOP AT SUMMERFEST

Posted by citykid on April 13, 2008 at 9:24 a.m. (report)

I, for one, don't want to disparage people in the 'burbs. I agree that many throughout the region would benefit from and would support a regional transit system. However, the truth is that there hasn't been sufficient support for a regional approach from our elected public officials, city and suburban. It's all about leadership and all we're getting is lip service.

Posted by llpierce on April 12, 2008 at 11:36 p.m. (report)

I don't know about any other of us "ingorant" suburbians (learn to spell, diesel, because it makes you look MORE ignorant), but I think there should be light rail out to the burbs because of fuel savings for folks who'd use it (which I would, if it went near my place of business). It really galls me when people disparage the burbs - or the city - like the city's any better (or the burbs)! Each has their good and bad points.

Posted by Caesar753 on April 11, 2008 at 11:01 a.m. (report)

There is a cab stand in front of the Pfister on Jefferson too.

Posted by mkelover on April 11, 2008 at 10:36 a.m. (report)

Megster, both you and the person who replied after you both mentioned the need for a better mass public transit system. I simply requested you put some backing to those demands. I too think a better public transit system is a great idea but I have NO clue how to pay for it based on the current situation without massively raising a myriad of taxes.