Ealing Cycling Campaign
Newsletter May 2006
Ealing's busiest cycle route is under the spotlight once again. The Uxbridge Road, also known as London Cycle Network Route 51 is the subject of the latest Cycle Route Implementation and Stakeholder Plan (CRISP). Basically this means that TfL and the council are drawing up plans to improve the route, and want our involvement. The first stage is a Cycle Route Inspection Meeting (CRIM), scheduled for late May / early June. Road planners and other interested parties, including a representative from ECC, cycle the route and make suggestions for changes. If you're a regular user of the Uxbridge Road and have any suggestions for improvements, please let us know. Send an email to ealingcycling@dsl.pipex.com.
With the Conservatives winning control of Ealing Council at the local election, Ealing now joins Hammersmith and Hillingdon councils in opposing the planned West London Tram. Here at Ealing Cycling Campaign we are keeping an open mind. We will continue to work with Transport for London to get the best scheme we can for cyclists. The first set of plans offered the promise of a dedicated 1.5 metre-wide cycle lane along much of the route, but raised a host of problems. See below. The new plans are now available on the internet. See: At first sight they look better: for instance, the convoluted route described below has gone, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. They fail to take notice of new cycle routes that have gone in since the last set of plans - e.g. the new cycle lane from Waitrose along Bedford Road to the Uxbridge Road, and they still don't include a direct route to Ealing Broadway Station. The good news is that TfL are keen to hear our comments.
The first set of tram plans included this delightful detour. What, on a well designed scheme, would be a 50 metre journey from the Uxbridge Road to Ealing Broadway station was turned into a mini-marathon. If the plans had gone ahead, cyclists travelling from Ealing Common to Ealing Broadway Station would have had to cycle past the turning to the station, through a pelican crossing, left at the next set of traffic lights, south down the High Street past a pelican crossing to the mini roundabout at Ealing Green, back up Bond Street through another pelican crossing, right at the traffic lights onto Uxbridge Road, left at the next set of traffic lights to head up Springbridge Road, past another pelican crossing, right at the traffic lights into Haven Green, through a fifth pelican crossing, right at the roundabout, then through a sixth pelican crossing, and finally down the last 50 metres to the station. Aaaaagh!!
Work is under way
to improve part of the towpath along the Grand Union Canal. The scheme,
suggested by the Council but funded by Transport for London (TfL), will
resurface the towpath between Manor Farm Road (Perivale) and Greenford.
This will mean towpath closures. They should be coming to an end by the
beginning of June, but may continue westwards if more funding is available.
The new surface is a sort of clay with granite chips, 1.5 metres wide.
Once the chips have sunk in it’s fairly smooth, though not quite
as good as tarmac. It's way safer than the previous mud and rocks, though.
Other pieces of council news:
• Westminster Road one-way exemption (suggested by ECC) is finally
going ahead.
• The cycle lanes at the south end of Boston road have been upgraded
as part of the resurfacing work.
• There are plans to pedestrianise Ealing station forecourt. Early
versions included cycle stands, but the current version, which may well
be final, has no cycle parking at all. ECC are pushing for its reinstatement.
• The cycle training funding, which was threatened, has been restored
to the same level as last year. It's still far too low, and far too many
children leave school without adequate training. So if you have kids at
school, do make sure it is signed up to the council's training programme.
The usual age is from 9 years.
All
members are welcome at our meetings. We usually get together on the first
Wednesday of the month. Our
venue is downstairs at "Cafe Grove" on The Grove, W5.
If
you haven't been before you are very welcome.
P.S. The cafe does very good cheesecake and Polish beer.
