Deep Ellum To Keep Rideshare Zones Through 2020.

Hope You Like Those Designated Rideshare Pick-Up And Drop-Off Zone Situation In Deep Ellum, ‘Cause They’re Sticking Around Through October 2020, At Least.

Deep Ellum’s designated pick-up and drop-off rideshare zones are here to stay — for at least the next year or so, anyway.

Six months after launching a pilot program meant to test the viability of using specific areas within the neighborhood for companies such as Uber and Lyft to use while picking up and dropping off their customers, the Deep Ellum Foundation late last month announced plans to continue its efforts on this front through at least 2020.

Meant to help curb traffic congestion and address public safety concerns, these zones initially received a lukewarm-at-best reception from the public upon their introduction. Members of the service industry particularly voiced concerns over the system, which uses geo-fencing technology to prevent rideshare drivers from operating within the busiest stretches of Deep Ellum, complaining that the zones weren’t just inconvenient, but a hazard — one that forced them to traverse excessive distances late at night upon the completion of their shifts. In late July, the Deep Ellum Foundation responded to this feedback by altering the implementation of the program from a 24/7 system to one that only took effect from 9 p.m. on Thursdays through 3 a.m. on Sundays.

The first such program of its type within an entertainment district of Deep Ellum’s size anywhere in the country, the system only allows rideshare drivers to pick up or drop off their riders within one of five areas within Deep Ellum while in effect.

Those zones include the northbound stretch of Good Latimer Expressway between Main and Commerce Streets, the eastbound stretch of Commerce Street between Crowdus Street and Malcolm X Boulevard, the southbound stretch of Pryor Street Main and Commerce Street, the northbound Malcolm X Boulevard stretch between Indiana and Junius Streets, and the westbound Swiss Avenue strip between N. Hawkins and Good Latimer Expressway.