Displaced downtown taxi drivers will soon be reallocated their parking spaces, State Minister for Transport and Aviation Hope Strachan announced Tuesday.
The minister was responding to concerns made by the drivers who are complaining that their livelihoods are being jeopardised due to a lack of designated taxi parking spaces along the Bay Street corridor.
The drivers complain that the lack of space makes it difficult to pick up and drop off their fares and now they are being ticketed by police and fined for conducting business along the street.
There were initially 37 parking spaces along Bay Street designated to the drivers, but those spots were removed during recent road works along the corridor.
“Bay Street has been repaved recently and unfortunately the markings were paved over,” Mrs. Strachan said. “However, we have already approached the Ministry of Works (MOW) about replacing those markings.
“We understand the urgency of it and the value of it to those taxi drivers and we have been assured by the MOW that those markings will be put in place in very short order. We are going be pressing them on that issue because we know that it is an inconvenience to the taxi drivers and those persons downtown who need to access the taxis as well.”
The lack of clear and visible signage and pedestrian crossings in the downtown area are concerns raised by both taxi drivers and pedestrians.
Mrs. Strachan said those issues are priorities to the government and are being addressed as a part of the complete overhaul of road traffic in the country.
“We’re hoping at the end of the day that we have a complete comprehensive sort of view of the whole road traffic situation in the country,” the minister said.
“We’re also looking at the Road Traffic Act as well – that’s going to be totally redone over the course of the next year or so. We are looking at complete new regime in terms of our road traffic and I think you will see the difference at the end of the day.”
The minister did not give any timeline as to when the cab drivers’ spaces will be returned but she stressed that it was matter of urgency.
