February 28, 2007

TAXI PARKING CHAOS IS JUST RANK!

ANGER is rising alongside builders' dust as construction chaos continues at Leven's Shorehead.
Although Fife Council has assured Leven's new bus station will be finished in March, some people claim taxi rank confusion will endure long after workmen leave.
Cath Moffat, who owns Mad Hackers at the Shorehead, said she has had enough after one recent incident.
She blasted: "I've just had an old lady crying outside because she could not find a taxi.
"There she stood with a walking stick, could hardly walk, and standing there so upset. It's terrible."
Cath added: "As for the bus station, it's an absolute eyesore and it cuts off the entire Shorehead into the bargain. I just wish somebody would put a bomb underneath it!"
Taxis were unacceptably parked on main roads, on pavements, by traffic lights and even outside the swimming pool, she added.
"There are no taxi notices up! It's about time this Council realised that when a taxi owner pays for a licence, they should be given a place to park," said Cath.
Tony McCrae, lead officer for Fife Council's public transport development team, told the Mail the situation was under control.
A rank had been formed outside Peacock's, signs had been put up, and on visiting the Shorehead he found no problems.
He confirmed the bus station is scheduled to finish between mid-March and the end of the month.
However, that does not inspire local taxi firm owner Pete Meldrum, who claims the Council has badly let down taxi drivers and the public.
He said: "When the Council first talked about replacing the bus station, that was the ideal time to get the new taxi rank right.
"They will say they consulted with us, but it made no difference.
"It's a shame that after all these years, they've wasted an opportunity to get a proper taxi rank for Leven."
Mr Meldrum said the taxi association had appealed for a new rank past Barron's shop up to the bottom of the High Street, but Fife Council knocked that back.
"Then they decided to have a split rank, with eight cars up towards Barron's and another two cars in front of the toilet block," he explained.
After the taxi association protested there was insufficient space for eight vehicles, the Council allocated more to the toilet block area.
Mr Meldrum commented: "By doing that, they've created just the same problems we had with the old rank, but with a split option.
"This is no benefit to us a taxi owners since it creates confusion. They had the ideal opportunity to get the rank right and they have actually made it worse.
"It's going to be a disaster, creating aggravation for the guys working the rank and customers."
Fife Council's Tony McCrae responded: "To be fair, it is always going to be a compromise in these situations.
"The Shorehead is quite a tight area and there's not an awful lot of space to have the ideal solution for everybody."
A rank to the bottom of the High Street would have created problems with the car park, especially for disabled users, he added.