Residents willing to go to court if Prestondale taxi ‘holding facility' goes ahead
RESIDENTS of uMhlanga said they are willing to go to court if a plan to build a taxi and bus rank or 'holding facility' on a vacant plot of land in Prestondale is approved.
The plan proposes a three-level holding facility with more than 570 bays in Prestondale, next to the Umhlanga Ski Boat Club.
In December last year residents voiced their opposition to the plan at a public meeting with city officials and members of the eThekwini Traffic Authority (ETA).
The reason to build the rank or holding facility is due to a lack of a designated taxi rank in the uMhlanga CBD.
Also read: Historical building in Durban North faces ruin
Currently, taxis are parked on the M4 Ruth First Highway off-ramp, and while there is a limited number of bays for taxis on Ridge Road behind Oceans Mall, there are no public transport facilities within the uMhlanga Rocks precinct to hold hundreds of taxis.
Ward 35 councillor Bradley Singh, who met with Northglen News at the proposed taxi and bus holding facility site, said the residents would not be bulldozed by the City.
'During the public participation process the City received more than 2000 objections to the proposal. At the moment the City will put its proposal together to present their report to either the town planning committee or the executive committee. The residents have made it very clear that under no circumstance will they be bulldozed by the City and they are willing to fight this in court.
'To build this facility will cost hundreds of millions of rands which the City doesn't have. The biggest issue is the taxis need to go somewhere and we feel the solution is not here in uMhlanga but the alternative site in Cornubia. So while I thank the City for trying to resolve this issue, what they've proposed will impact residents in the uMhlanga Ridge area. Both the residents and I feel Cornubia would be ideal as it would be able to house a large number of taxis. The taxi associations are not too keen on that arrangement, but the status quo cannot stand as there is more congestion within uMhlanga and it's dangerous having so many taxis illegally parked on an off-ramp,' Singh said.
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