ALTON'S taxi drivers appear to have met with success in their bid to improve parking in the town centre, both for themselves and other motorists.

Change has been prompted by safety issues relating to the existing taxi rank outside Porters in the High Street.

When buses are picking up passengers and the taxis are in their bays the whole road is blocked and the western end of the town "grinds to a halt".

Drivers point out that the four-bay rank is inadequate, bearing in mind there are now more than 28 hackney plates operating in the Alton area and that the rank is used as an unloading bay for lorries accessing High Street shops.

Proposals are to change the on-street parking arrangements to enable the installation of a five-bay taxi rank plus one disabled bay outside the Swan Hotel.

There would be one additional 15-minute parking bay outside the Nat West Bank.

Treloar College is happy to dispense with its coach parking area outside Quality Seconds which will revert to two 15-minute parking slots and two disabled bays with two additional 15-minute parking slots across the road, outside Oddbins.

The current taxi rank would be replaced by two disabled parking bays with double yellow lines taking up the rest of the road up to the pinch point.

Outside the Post Office the proposal is to leave the disabled bays but to create a two-bay taxi rank opposite, leaving two 15-minute slots with extended double yellow lines to the start of the bay.

There will be six new 15-minute parking bays created opposite Somerfield.

The changes, if approved, could be in place within six months. Mayor John Smith, stressed that the changes would result in a net increase in short-term general parking.

Colleague Paddy Mendham expressed concerns that taxi drivers were often seen to be monopolising general parking spaces, particularly in Market Street - a practice which should be stopped. It was recognised that they were entitled to use these spaces provided it was within the 15-minute time limit, on a no-return basis, and that they were not plying their trade while parked there.