Today in historical past: Taxi drivers to fight city over ban on parking | News

June 10, 1921

Dave and Lloyd Ferris and Arthur Bechtel were called in court this morning by Andrew Carlson. These drivers refused to obey the police no-parking rules for taxis on Mitchell Street. Police today issued arrest warrants that City Attorney WH Yearnd will pursue in court as taxi drivers consulted with Recorder’s Court Judge EJ Millington. The arrest warrants accuse the defendants of being taxi drivers who parked on Mitchell Street. Today the Blue Line taxis park in the side streets until the results of the test procedures against the Ferris and Bechtel companies are available. Teddy Burke, another driver who is not part of the Blue Line organization, failed to get a driver’s license on the first of the month. There are many interesting points in the taxi controversy. The drivers claim the public wants them on the corner of Mitchell and Harris Streets, near depots and hotels, and in the recognized civic center. All of the doctor’s offices are also nearby, and patients often want taxis to return home or cars to be used in accidents, drivers say. The Blue Line Cab Co. has just installed telephones at the Russell Hotel. That organization offered to pay for the concrete paving on the south side of Harris Street at Mitchell if the city would allow that stretch to be paved, members said. Taxi drivers said if they had to park on Mason Street, where city authorities had suggested, guests couldn’t be held responsible for calling police headquarters to get a taxi. Police say cab drivers can use any side street, however, with Mason being a suggestion as it’s paved on the side, not much used, and fairly central. It was suggested that Harris Street below Mitchell, where the Drays are now, would be a good taxi station, convenient and even closer to the depots it would be better to move the teams further from the city center for a regular booth. Proponents of this plan declared. City authorities told taxi drivers last year that the ordinance against parking taxis on Mitchell Street would not be enforced if they stayed in the middle of the street and didn’t park on the curbs, which are banned from all traffic. However, the drivers failed to honor that agreement, police say, and now that there is riot for a parking system to free up more space on Mitchell Street, the utility vehicles have to drive.

June 10, 1971

Attempts are being made to reach an agreement among interested parties on the routing of sections of the new US Highway 131 between Howard City and Ashton. The attempts are being made by officials from the U.S. 131 Area Development Association to prevent construction delays that could arise from excessive controversy over the route. Corridor or site hearings are planned shortly to assess the approximate location of the new Howard City to Big Rapids freeway. Later on, there will be on-site hearings of highway officials for the highway from Big Rapids to a point near Ashton, the directors of the US 131 Association said at their regular meeting on Wednesday evening. It was reported to the group that Senate Bill 300, tabled by Cadillac Senator John Toepp to provide a bond for completing Michigan’s freeway program, has not yet come off the committee. If this loyalty program is approved, it was reported that contracts for US Highway 131 to a point south of Cadillac would be leased by the third quarter of 1974 for the section from Ashton to the north and from Reed City to Ashton by the first quarter of 1976 The highway south of Reed City is said to be under contract with current highway funds through the third quarter of 1975 until it connects to US 31 near Traverse City until the fourth quarter of 1977 and continues until it connects to I-75 bis for the second quarter of 1980. Contracts for the construction of M-57 North to M-46 are scheduled for lease this year, near Howard City.

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