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SJC boasts one of the largest school campuses in the City, and for decades sat on the Princess Margaret Drive with no security fencing.  Well, times have changed and the dangers of a wide open, easily accessible campus presents a danger to the student body, teaching and administrative population.  

So SJC is building a major concrete fence spanning its large compound, but for Ernesto Torres and the taxi drivers of West Landivar it threatens to displace them.   Torres and his ever changing band of taxi occupants have been enjoying the location since 2001, without the infringement of any tax, peddler or user fee from the property owner SJC or the City Council.  

But, things have changed and today Torres said he is merely the voice for the taxi drivers on the site, who are begging for further consideration.

Ernesto Torres â€" Driving Instructor/Taximan
“ St. John’s well building, constructing their fence… it’s their property, we can’t stop it, nobody angry out here… nobody angry out here.  What I would want to do… I understand they will not concrete all along their property all along to the sea.  They will reach just where my office was… I used to call office the plum tree that will be concreted.  The rest as you go alongside to the sea, alongside ehm this street here, ehm what’s the name again… University Drive, not University Drive… West Landivar… ehm I am saying ehm… this space right here… ehm behind me okay… ahm the fence will pass like maybe five feet away from the edge of the pavement… I am want to go and talk to the President of the College… and ask if she could allow five cars to park here… let her lease these fellow here along with me and we will lease and pay whatever fee we could agree upon.  The thing is that one we don’t want to paralyze the service… People that come here… people that go to the school… students, teachers, people that go do business at the school need the service.  The community alongside here they need the taxi service.  So I am saying yes we cannot stop them from erecting their fence none at all that is there property.  Even though it is felt that they are cheating; that is why I understand that the City Council will come by and check with their planners, their surveyors to see if that it is surveyed as per it is surveyed… that nobody cheating space to nobody.â€￾

We discussed the matter with the Director of Operations for SJC Orlando Medina who informed us that the school did give notice to Torres and his band of taxi drivers a month or so ago.  At the time, he said no request for consideration was made.  He said that is something the President of the institution would have to decide on and she was currently out of the country.  As for the survey lines and monuments, he said that the school did get a private surveyor to unearth the monument ensuring they are respecting property lines and public access.