Taxis blocking the road

Ward 98 Councillor Laurette van Zijl’s illegal taxi rank issues has made progress.

Over the past years, Van Zijl has raised many concerns over the taxis stationed on the corner of Beyers Naudé Drive and Wilson Street in Fairland on numerous occasions, but her cries went unheard.

However, earlier this year, after numerous attempts she received a response from the officials, stating that they will deal with the taxi rank issue during the 2017 financial year.

Van Zijl emphasised that taxi drivers and bus drivers should not use the road as a place to wait for passengers because it is an accident waiting to happen.

“I am just afraid and also worried that something bad will happen because it is not a suitable place to park.”

A concerned resident also made an attempt to the JMPD spokesperson Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnar to mark the streets with red lines, to remind the taxi drivers that stopping within 5 km from a street corner or intersection is illegal.

In an email to the resident Chief Supt Minnaar said, “The taxi routes and places at which taxis stop for dropping off or picking up of passengers are not regulated, so the painting of red lines for that purpose will unfortunately not be done.”

Meanwhile, JRA’s Public Transport Operations Khomotso Ratlabala informed that the Department of Transport, together with the JRA went on site to investigate if provision of a lay-bys can be feasible.

“It was confirmed by the JRA Road Traffic Engineering Department that there is sufficient space on the road reserve for lay-bys on both sides of Beyers Naudé as the problem is both north-facing toward Honeydew and south-facing toward Johannesburg,” Ratlabala said.

She added that the department will make budget submissions for 9–12-metre-long lay-bys for the financial year 2017/2018 as a means of resolving the problem.

However, Ratlabala said for now, JRA could consider painting red makings at the World Wear corner and put a ‘No Stopping’ sign to alleviate the problem.