Cabbies stage 3am go-slow

4:30pm Thursday 28th August 2008

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IRATE taxi drivers blocked town centre roads in protest at the new pedestrian zone in lower Bridge Street.

Scores of taxis lined the routes along Academy Way and Friars Gate on Sunday, bringing the town centre to a standstill as they vented their anger over the closure of the road.

At one point they blocked both sides of Academy Way, leaving traffic piling up throughout the centre during the early hours of Monday.

Mike Mason, from Panama Jacks, said: “When we were locking up at around 3.30am they were still protesting. Nobody could get taxis.”

Last weekend saw the introduction of the pedestrian zone on Bridge Street from its junction with Academy Way down to Bridge Foot.

Signs at either end of the street say that the pedestrian zone is in operation from 9pm Friday until 5am Sunday.

“Because it had gone past midnight and it was now Monday they were protesting that they wanted to get on Bridge Street to pick up,” added Mr Mason.

“I thought they would just move the cones out of the way but they didn’t.”

Motorists trying to travel through the town centre had to weave between the taxis.

The decision to close the street to all traffic at weekends was made by councillors last month at a stormy meeting.

More than 50 Hackney taxi drivers voiced their concern that they would lose out on vital late night trade if they were forced from their Bridge Street ranks.

A separate application to ban motorists on the street for an 18-month experimental period was made on August 14.

Warrington Borough Council said that it will review the signage on display but confirmed the driving ban runs until 5am on Monday morning.

A spokesman confirmed that the council and Cheshire Police are meeting weekly to evaluate the effectiveness of the new system and welcome taxi drivers and members of the public to put forward their thoughts on the way the new system is working.

They also said that thanks to new taxi marshalls working in the town centre the amount of litter had been reduced.