Ealing is Changing
We explore the building explosion happening and planned in the centre as well as the Transport for London/Ealing Council £9+ million plans to re-design Dean Gardens, give cyclists priority over buses along the Broadway and make the centre neighbourhood more ‘liveable’.
West London Islamic Centre mosque: www.wliconline.org/
Sherwood Close: www.sherwoodclose.co.uk
West Ealing Liveable Neighbourhood: http://live-west-ealing.co.uk
What a ridiculous assertion about the proposed cycle lane in West Ealing. You can’t base your criticisms on current modal share figures – if 3% of all traffic is cyclists in its current hostile state then the potential for this to grow must be huge, given an appropriate, safe environment. By your own admission it’s the resulting vans, taxis etc causing pollution that are the problem, so let’s work to reduce those. Are you suggesting that the road in its current state is acceptable?
Thanks for the feedback – much appreciated.
Getting rid of the bus lane is a bad idea.
Electric and hybrid cars are a good idea.
An east/west cycle lane along Leeland Terrace, across Dean Gardens and along Mattock Lane is a good idea.
Dedicated/segregated cycle lanes along the Uxbridge Road will be dangerous for elderly less-than-mobile people (like me).
Acceptable? Probably not – but a £9 million cycling-based solution is also probably not the answer.
We’ll have to agree to differ – I believe that we need to take a much more strategic view rather than preserve the situation that we have and think we can tweak it. If we redress the balance of road use towards public transport and cycles/pedestrians then it can make for a much more pleasant, vibrant environment and move it away from the dominance of motor vehicles that makes it unpleasant for all (including those in the vehicles!). We cannot just think that switching to electric vehicles is the solution. And the problem with a route for cyclists that avoids the road means that they will be taken away from the shops and it would only be used as a through route, but equally those who want to use the road as a through route will not want it or use it for the exact same reasons that drivers wouldn’t. Putting in the measures to ensure easy, safe access without causing delays to both drivers and cyclists will be problematic too. As for the assertion that it will be dangerous, that’s a frequent red herring in these sorts of arguments – look at the casualty figures for any country that has good infrastructure and a higher modal share for bicycles. It’s also totally disingenuous to claim it’s a “£9 million cycling-based solution” when it is very clear that the £8.6m covers much, much more than the cycle lane, as your video itself admirably shows. I’d encourage you to take a look at http://live-west-ealing.co.uk/about/
Shops? Place-based retail is dying in West Ealing Broadway as it is in 100s of town/city High Streets throughout the UK. Often in other countries the centres with a high mixed mode transport share have enjoyed pedestrian/trolley bus/tram/bus/motorised vehicle/bike sharing for decades. That’s not generally true in this country.
In the WELN/LWE finances the budget is £9,078,232.
Why not reveal who you are? Then exposurebox might invite you to debate some of these issues on camera with me?
I don’t really understand what you’re saying, James. Like it or not, wherever human beings live together people and goods have to move around. And in densely developed places like Ealing they do so at a significant scale. Not least buses, delivery vehicles and white vans. Leave the A4020 to them I say. If they are to be restricted there, where should they go?
I never cycle along the Uxbridge Rd between Acton and Hanwell. I don’t need to. The residential roads to the north and south make are more pleasant routes – no traffic, better air quality and much smoother ride.
What I am saying is that there is an opportunity to improve the road for everyone by changing the balance of users and usage. This is well proven in terms of the way that schemes like this have the opportunity to change modal share. Cycle lanes are of course also much more efficient at moving people and to some extent goods in terms of space and capacity than roads. No-one will be restricted, it will just make the alternatives more attractive, whilst leaving the space for the essential vehicle movements.
As for alternative routes, just as with cars, those who might consider using bikes or walking prefer the direct, faster routes, they just want them to be safer and more pleasant. Back routes like the generally failed Quietways simply don’t achieve the scale of change that is needed.
An engagement by TfL and Ealing Council (EC) with local residents, Broadway users and traders on how Broadway might be ‘improved’ would have been helpful before this £9 million scheme was specified. TfL/EC completely ignored the Neighbourhood Forum which was creating a spatial plan for the centre and covertly commissioned a consultancy to create this ‘Liveable Neighbourhood’ plan. Talk to Broadway traders and you’ll discover that they know absolutely zero about these plans.