"...I needed one more fare to make my night, a lady up ahead waved to flag me down..."

A new taxi rank could be set up in Southend High Street.

Council chiefs are considering creating a pick-up point for cabs in the loop of road which links Clarence Street and Weston Road.

Sound like a good idea. who could possibly object to...

Oh:

However, the idea has been met with outrage by the council’s Tory deputy leader, John Lamb.

He said: “We have deliberately pedestrianised the High Street to make it a safe place for people to go with their families.”

Maybe he has a point? I mean, it's be a shame to dig up all that vast pedestrianised area to...

Oh. Wait. I know the bit he means. And so does GoogleMaps:

Yes, indeed. There's already a road there.

Putting a taxi rank in might inconvenience Southend Police, who it seems are always parked outside M&S, but not anyone else. Certainly not shoppers, who are well aware that this lower part of the High Street is definitely NOT 'pedestrianised'.

“I can see the point of having it at night, when the taxis would be able to quickly take away the people coming out of the pubs and clubs.

“But during the day, it should not happen. It’s an issue of safety.”

And we all know how Southend Council feels about road safety...

But 'safety' is what they always reach for, isn't it? He'd have been on much safer ground if he'd pointed out that there's a taxi rank within a stone's throw of this road (down the side of BHS, just to the right of that GoogleMap image) and so no need for a new one.