THE reservoir site at the top of Trematon Drive, a make-shift taxi rank, growing numbers of vagrants and littering are just some of the challenges local ward councillor Martin Meyer is tackling on behalf of his constituents.
According to Meyer, the reservoir sits on a attractive piece of land that unfortunately has not been properly maintained by the City and has been taken over by a large number of vagrants.
“It is sad to see that the City is not delivering the services they should there. The land is underutilised and should be safeguarded. I feel it should be fenced off and a gate should be controlled by people who use the land. If managed well, it could be a good place for residents in the surrounding buildings to use for recreational purposes. The reservoir is also important as it is one of our major reservoirs and provides water to thousands of residents,” he said.
Meyer said he would engage with the Water Department and Parks Department on the matter. Points he hopes to raise with officials will include the re-instatement of the trees on the reservoir which were blown over in a storm, regular law enforcement patrols to deal with the vagrancy issue as well as a thorough clean-up of the area. He will also appeal for the area around the reservoir to be fenced off.
An area adjacent to the reservoir is currently being utilised by taxi drivers as a taxi rank and, according to Meyer, the area is filthy and is not being managed correctly.
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He said Metro Police had managed to move the taxis from the area, but drivers had just moved further down Trematron Drive and had been ranking at the view site.
“The taxis were parking in the area and littering in the parking lot. Metro Police put a stop to this, but the taxis then moved back to the top of the road opposite Valley View Road. The problem is the taxis need to stop somewhere, but this area is not ideal. A place needs to be found where it is convenient to residents and the school. We need taxis in the area but not in a way that affects residents negatively. I will continue to engage with ETA on the matter of the taxi rank to find a long term solution,” said Meyer.
He said he had requested the area around the taxi rank and Valley View Road be cleaned after complaints from residents had alerted him to the number of empty alcohol bottles that were being left by vagrants and littered the road.
“I am aware that people are concerned about the liquor store, and after seeing all the bottles at the site I can see there is clearly a link between the issues with vagrants and the store. The store owner obtained the liquor licence under the old liquor act that did not prohibit selling alcohol close to a school. Currently the Provincial Government does not enforce or act on businesses that obtained their licence under the old act. This is something I have asked the provincial government to look into,” he said.
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