TAXI drivers have raised the alarm on ‘chaotic’ road congestion outside Chester’s train station.
City Road is in the spotlight this week, after a 24-year-old woman from Leeds was killed after being struck by a taxi near the station over the weekend.
But although the death, which happened near the Westminster Hotel, is completely unrelated to the concourse, taxi drivers who spend their days at the station, say the build up of cars and lack of road markings are ‘an accident waiting to happen.’
One said: “There’s definitely a problem. At busy times nobody knows what’s going on. Cones help a bit but we’ve seen so many close shaves. But there’s not much we can do about it.”
In 2008, former Chester MP, Christine Russell, voiced her concerns for the situation in a letter to the former Cheshire County Council, describing the system as a ‘free for all’.
She wrote: “I understand the layout was designed so this complex junction would have the minimum of road markings with no-one having right of way, and the whole system dependent on a degree of ‘controlled uncertainty’ but while this may appear aesthetically pleasing, it’s utterly confusing and potentially dangerous for pedestrians who may be frail, have mobility problems, have small children in tow or lots of luggage.”
A response from David Thomas, Chester’s area traffic engineer at the time, claimed the focus was on creating greater space for pedestrians and making routes more self-explanatory.
Richard Barker, Chairman of Chester Licensed Hackney Cabs who spends every day at the concourse said: “There is a small sign that says it’s a controlled zone but you can barely see it.
“Nobody’s sure who should stop, people walk in front of cars thinking it’s a pedestrian crossing and it can be chaos,” he added.
“I’ve worked here donkey’s years and it was better when our rank was on the other side but since the taxis have been lined up there’s been a lot of near misses.
“I’ve never seen zones like this anywhere else in the country and the crazy thing is, there have been no accidents.
“But do we have to wait until that actually happens? I’d like to see something in place before it does.”
Residents also took to Facebook to voice their opinions.
Michelle Griffiths wrote: “If I’m crossing I always go the longer way around – there’s always traffic coming from every angle.”
Rob Hay said: “After the area was revamped, they didn’t bother to do any road markings so when you drive by the station there is always a lot of confusion and I’m surprised there aren’t more accidents there, especially with the number of parked cars which make visibility really poor.”
