Griffith City Council has completed work on a new shelter, located at the Taxi Rank on Banna Avenue, with thanks to a grant from Transport NSW under the Council Passenger Transport Infrastructure Grants Scheme.

Councillor Simon Croce, chairperson of the Transport Committee said the old shelter was recognised as being too small for needs of those utilising the taxi service.

“The previous shelter was no longer able to accommodate the number of waiting passengers, particularly between the hours of 2am – 4pm Saturday and Sunday,” said Councillor Croce.

“This led to conflict between people waiting for a Taxi, putting the safety of the community and the drivers at risk.”

Cr Croce said the shelter isn’t exclusively for the use of taxi passenger”  

“Who’s to say you can’t use it if you just want somewhere to sit and eat your lunch?” 

Following consultation with Police Officers from Griffith Local Area Command and Griffith Buslines (operators of the Griffith City Taxi Service), Council’s Road Safety and Traffic Officer, Mr Greg Balind successfully applied for funding – in the amount of $77,768 - to replace the existing shelter.

“The new shelter is considerably larger in size, is made from powder coated aluminum with the installation started at the end of June. Now completed, the shelter will provide a larger, safer and more comfortable space for Taxi users,” Cr Croce said.

In addition to being larger and providing more seating, the shelter also has internal security lighting along the entire length to improve monitoring by Council’s exiting CCTV cameras, along with ‘Crimsafe’ transparent mesh panels to increase the stability of the structure and enhance the safety allowing for better vision for local law enforcement which reduces the potential for crime and vandalism.

“Two ramps have also been fitted at a suitable grade and internal ‘turning areas’ for wheelchairs, mobility scooters and mobility impaired people which satisfy the access requirements under Australian Standard 1428. These features ensure the new shelter is safe for all members of the community”