Halfway House Development Forum takes it to the streets

After several indoor meetings, the Halfway House Development Forum took to the streets as it conducted a site visit at the Midrand Taxi Rank, also known as the Boulders.

This was done on May 22, to ensure that the area looks clean as they get more boots on the ground.

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Rob Fowler, one of the founding members of the forum, said the rank is an integral part of the daily experience of thousands of commuters to the Halfway House CBD.

Those commuters have no option but to go through the rank facilities and its surrounding areas.

“The present experience is not a happy one. The taxi rank itself was built at great cost by the city, using the ratepayer’s money. This valuable asset must be well maintained and managed. It is not acceptable that most of the toilets and the doors are broken and unusable,” said Fowler.

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He said the once good lighting inside the rank is not maintained and repaired. The rank needs to be a safe and efficient facility for every commuter and everyone who has an interest in the development of Halfway House.

“There is a serious need to evaluate all aspects of the taxi rank experience and for the council to activate all its agencies to instal more bins and remove litter; fix the roads, better control hawkers, restore the rank buildings and the public facilities, improve lighting and security. This all needs concerted and ongoing effort from every council agency responsible for administering this part of Midrand,” he added.

Various city entities that were part of the visit said they were not eligible to comment by protocol and a formal communication will come through the city’s spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane.

However, no response had been forthcoming by the time of going to print.

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