About the consultation: proposed consolidation on taxi ranks around Dunstable's High Street
Consultation closed: Tuesday 23 November 2021
Consultation opened: Wednesday 29 September 2021
Background
As part of the redevelopment of Dunstable High Street, we're investing in the area to create a more pleasant, safe and attractive high street, reducing the sense of vehicles dominating the road, giving greater priority to pedestrians and cyclists and improving accessibility across and within different parts of the town centre.
The aim is to improve the identity of Dunstable High Street by creating a more traditional town centre that reflects the unique history of the area as well as attracting investors and people to live and work in the area.
This is one of many investments we've been making to improve Dunstable, including the new leisure centre and library at the Dunstable Centre; a new community-focused integrated health and care hub, together with homes for older people and new Creasey Park facilities.
This eight-week consultation seeks views about the proposal to consolidate the two current taxi ranks in Dunstable, located on High Street South and West Street into one, which will be located on West Street.
This consultation will ensure that we provide residents, taxi drivers and businesses the opportunity to have their say on the proposal and make suggestions about other options that could be considered.
Why are we proposing to consolidate the two taxi ranks?
We're proposing to consolidate the two current taxi ranks located on High Street South (currently 12 spaces) and West Street (currently 12 spaces) into one rank; by closing the High Street South rank and maintaining the existing 12 spaces in West Street, this will provide clarity on where to access taxis and help with the prioritisation of pedestrians and cyclists.
The consolidation will free up the current space used by the taxi rank in High Street South, to allow the provision of four new additional short-term parking spaces with access to new electric charging points for the public.
We're also proposing that the new taxi rank in West Street will have faster electric charging provisions for taxis. This will ensure that taxi drivers with electric/hybrid vehicles are able to charge their vehicles quickly, while waiting for their next customer.
The taxi rank in West Street is currently closed for carriageway reconstruction work and the installation of electric charging points until January 2022.