Cabbies say station revamp is a hazard for pedestrians
CABBIES have criticised the newly-completed taxi rank outside Swindon station and claimed the pedestrian crossing is ‘an accident waiting to happen’.
As work on the £1.8m revamp of the station forecourt nears completion after nearly 12 months, the taxi rank and bus stop has been finished and the hollow shell of the Millenium Clock has been brought out of storage.
But those plying their trade in the station have said they are less than happy with the new layout and say it does not work for pedestrians or transport access, with a crossing that gives people mixed signals.
One driver, Kevin Midgley, who has been a cabbie in the town for 13 years, said: “The light system is an accident waiting to happen. One set is for the taxi lane and another set is for the buses and other traffic.
“If you stand there and watch you will see how many people walk out in front of buses or taxis. I would say there have been a couple of near-misses.
“I don’t know why they have bothered doing anything to it at all, it’s a bit of a waste of money. People getting off the train just want to get away from the station as soon as possible, not sit down and have a coffee in a plaza.”
The overhaul, which has involved months of disruption, has also seen spaces for taxis reduced from more than 40 to around 30.
But Danny Ringham, who started a new career as a taxi driver just three weeks ago, said the finished product was an improvement on the upheaval of the work, which has been ongoing since last September.
“It’s not as bad as it was, when we had queues down Gloucester Street,” he said.
“The only problem is once you are on the rank you cannot get out until it’s your turn, which is a problem if there’s an emergency or you want to try somewhere else.”
Forward Swindon said the scheme was intended to give pedestrians priority through an uncluttered space which will feature seating, planting, lighting and the Millennium Clock, while taxi ranks, drop-off points and bus stops will be in well-defined locations.
Of the new Puffin crossing, a spokesman said: “The Puffin crossing is the latest highways approved design and is being introduced throughout the UK as a safer type of crossing than the old style Pelican, using a lower level red/green man indicator and push button. However, due to the design of this crossing being a relatively new concept in the UK, we are going to include some additional, repeater indicators to warn pedestrians of oncoming traffic.”
source:
http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news ... destrians/
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