Chamber told to negotiate

The Peninsula Chamber of Commerce has been told to negotiate with Central Coast Taxis regarding a taxi rank on the western side of Memorial Ave, Ettalong Beach.

Gosford Council's Traffic Committee report has stated that the chamber again asked that the taxi rank be repositioned to the old post office site or that the current rank be reduced in length so that it caters for a maximum of three taxis.

The committee stated that it was "of the firm opinion that the taxi rank is correctly located to the south of Ocean View Rd".

It stated that: "In response to the Chamber's request for the taxi rank to be reduced in length, Central Coast Taxis have advised that it is essential to retain the existing length of the rank to cater for the taxi demand in this area, particularly of an evening".

"The police advise that from past experience, night-time only taxi ranks located in the vicinity of licensed premises have proven ineffective.

"Continual problems arose because motorists continually failed to observe the signposted late night hours on the taxi rank, resulting in constant after hours enforcement difficulties.

"Therefore, the 24 hours taxi rank should be retained."

The committee stated that there would "appear to be some benefit" in the Chamber further discussing this matter with Central Coast Taxis.

Council agenda Tr.06.061, 6 Nov 2007