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GROUND BROKEN FOR LINSTEAD TAXI STAND

From left to right:Mr. Andrew Pinnock, President, Linstead Taxi association; Mrs. Sophia Azan, Custos of St. Catherine; Minister Robert Pickersgill; State Minister, Dr. Fenton Ferguson; Mr. Hensley Williams, Chairman, Transport Authority and Mrs. Diane Watson, Managing Director, Transport Authority.

Ground was broken on Friday, March 24, 2004 for a Taxi Stand in Linstead, St. Catherine.

The Stand is being built against a background where there have been many challenges and frustration posed in the town of Linstead by numerous instances of traffic congestion, particularly on King Street. In making the decision to construct the Taxi Stand, the following considerations were looked at:

• The congestion stemming from illegal parking
• The ensuring convenience and safety of commuters and operators
• The curtailment of activities by illegal operators

The Taxi Stand is being built against a background where the town has experienced significant growth over the last few years with a lot of new businesses being established to support the growth. As a corollary, the transportation sector has also expanded to meet the growing demand, the result of which is congestion and disorder.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Minister Robert Pickersgill highlighted the fact that the construction of the Stand is another significant step towards achieving a particular goal. “We want to balance your needs with ensuring that we establish mechanisms for monitoring the system so that it works efficiently, in an orderly manner, for the benefit of all the stakeholders.”

The Minister also disclosed that is a forerunner to the building of the Linstead Transportation Centre. This Centre he noted, will be started within three months and will include the following:
• Properly marked parking bays
• Covered waiting areas for commuters; with destination signs
• Sanitary Conveniences
• Perimeter Fencing with pedestrian walk ways and
• A paved access road and storm drainage systems

The construction of that Centre is expected to be completed within eight to ten weeks.

Also speaking at the ceremony were Dr. Fenton Ferguson, State Minister in the Ministry of Transport and Works; Ms. Denise Daley, Councillor for the Linstead area; Mr. Andrew Pinnock, President of the Linstead Taxi Association and Mr. Hensley Williams, Chairman of the Transport Authority.

The Taxi Stand is expected to serve the communities of Wakefield, Banbury, Ewarton, Bog Walk, Lluidasvale and Orangefield.