LISTEN: Glenwood residents fume as taxis annex school layby
Resident Karin Dreyer, who has lived in her home in John Geekie Road for 53 years in peace, said she is at her wits end regarding the problem.
RESIDENTS living in John Geekie Road, Glenmore, want immediate action to stop taxis from parking in a layby which is meant for parents to use when dropping off their children at Glenmore Primary School in Feilden Drive.
Speaking to Berea Mail this week, resident Karin Dreyer, who has lived in her home for 53 years, said the taxi issue had become a huge problem.
“I do admin work from home and sometimes I can’t even hear myself on the phone, or hear my TV. There are times that up to 16 taxis are parked in the layby at one time. I have taxis hooting, playing music loudly and drivers whistling and shouting all day from 5.45am until 9pm outside my house. They also litter and wash taxis here. There are always people hanging around outside my home and I am worried about my safety. I can’t even sit on my own balcony,” she said, adding that stressful situation meant she now suffered from anxiety.
An added problem, she said, was that taxi drivers made illegal U-turns on the two blind rises in the road, they came to a stop in the middle of the road, and reversed up her street, all of which raised concerns for the safety of children at the nearby school. Dreyer said she had monitored the situation and although the taxis were parked there all day, there were peak times between 7am and 8am and 3pm and 5pm.
David Spiteri, principal of Glenmore Primary School, supported her concerns, saying the school drop off zone was very busy for parents in the mornings. “We have a sign up telling parents they may not park in the zone. In the last year or so taxi drivers have decided to move into the zone and wait for passengers coming from John Geekie Road on foot. While waiting, these taxis cause untold frustration for us school managers who are on duty every morning greeting parents and learners and keeping traffic flowing. The taxis clog up the zone and have to be asked to move along by us, largely to no avail. Added to this the drivers of such taxis often break the rules of the road by doing U-turns in the intersections as well as hooting incessantly for fares to hurry up.”
A resident who runs a Bed and Breakfast near the parking site, said the area had never been an active taxi route.
“When guests are having breakfast between seven and eight in the morning the worst hooting occurs. I have recorded up to five minutes. Throughout the day almost on the hour one to three taxis are back and hoot till they are filled to capacity. This causes huge frustration with residents as the whole atmosphere of the area has been changed,” she said.
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Dreyer said she had been in contact with the Parks Deparment and Metro Police regarding the matter. She said the goal was to have the layby enclosed, with a boom which would be operated by the school, however Parks said there was no budget for this. “Metro Police has been brilliant but even with Metro presence, the taxis refuse to leave,” she said.
Snr Supt Parboo Sewpersad from Metro Police said he would refer the problem to the public transport section for greater action, and would ensure patrols were done on an ongoing basis.
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