Taxi Driver Online

Workington cabbies outraged as taxi rank 'cut off'


Cab drivers in Workington are furious over confusion caused by the town’s main taxi rank being cordoned off.


The rank on Murray Road is the busiest in the town and the drivers fear that with it being closed, they will lose trade and vulnerable people will not be able to get a taxi.

The works are part of a £630,000 revamp of Murray Road, Finkle Street and Pow Street which are being carried out by Cumbria County Council.

Local builder Thomas Armstrong started digging up the road yesterday as part of the improvement works between Simply Food and Drink and John Walker, so taxis began parking as close to the rank as they could - mainly around the corner by Clinton Cards.

But Allerdale Council traffic wardens warned the drivers that if they were not parked in a designated parking bay, they would be booked.

Cumbria County Council has confirmed that a temporary rank will soon be in place further down Murray Road, while work continues on the top half.

When work reaches the temporary rank, a council spokesman said that signs will be put in place diverting customers to an alternative rank on Finkle Street.

Taxi driver Ian Melville said that when he arrived at the rank yesterday morning, he had no idea that it was to close and it came as a shock to him. He said that up to 20 cabs can pull into the rank first thing in the morning.

“Even the wagons can’t get parked to unload. We have nowhere else to park.

“We have just been parking willy nilly all day,” he said.

Taxi driver Michael Leonard said: “We parked up by Clinton Cards and wardens came and said that we couldn’t park there. I phoned Allerdale council and they said try and park anywhere you can and then they are coming back saying you can’t park there.”

An Allerdale spokesman said that taxi drivers were advised to park wherever they could legally.

“However, some taxis were found to be parking illegally – on double yellow lines and in no loading/unloading zones – and were at risk of causing an accident so were encouraged to move on by enforcement officers,” he added.

Sheena Robinson, secretary for Workington Taxi Association, said that taxi drivers in the town came into work to find chaos as there was nowhere for them to pull up.

“Their customers include elderly women and men, and mothers with prams who can’t get onto buses so they use a taxi.

“We need somewhere to park for 22 weeks while the work is taking place.

“There was an old lady today standing at the rank (at Murray Road) waiting for a taxi, people don’t know that we can’t park there anymore.

“We are going to pursue this as an association, we need something done. I can’t afford to lose 22 weeks on the rank. Nobody can afford to lose work in the credit crunch.”

David Rothery, of Rockers Taxi, said that although there are other taxi ranks in the town, people tend to use the one on Murray Road as it is more central.

He said: “This rank (Murray Road) is busy all day.

“We have other ranks, but people want them in the town centre.

“This should have been sorted out ages ago, instead of us turning up and it being closed.

“When I came here this morning there was no way I was going to get in.”

Murray Road and Finkle Street will be closed to traffic for eight Sundays up until June 8.

Work will take place on other days of the week, but the road will remain open.

The scheme is designed to improve the look of the area, make it safer for pedestrians and enhance people’s shopping experience.

It will include improvements to the carriageways, new kerbs, resurfacing works and remaking the roads.

The council also expects to carry out works on the footways in front of each shop.

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