Ealing Cycling Campaign
Newsletter October 2005
The new Waitrose supermarket in West Ealing opened in September with a scheme to promote cycling. It has 15 cycle trailers which customers can use to take their shopping home. The trailers are free for three days, and anyone with a Waitrose / John Lewis store card can borrow them. A member of Waitrose’s staff will fix a bracket to the seat post of your bike, and then you attach the trailer to this. If you use a trailer regularly, they will provide a permanent bracket. Ours is the flagship store as regards these trailers. For now, they're plain black until the custom, green, Waitrose ones are made with logo.
The council are continuing to install cycle exemptions
to one-way-streets. Or at least they are trying to, but it’s not
easy. Despite funding from TfL, the support of local residents, and a
borough policy that promotes cycling, schemes can be scuppered at the
last minute if local councilors block them. This is what has happened
with a plan to put in a cycle exemption to a point no entry in Hillcrest
Rd, Acton. A survey of local residents found nearly twice as many in favour
as against, yet local councillors blocked the scheme at the Acton Area
committee meeting in September.
So what can you do about it? If you live in South Acton, please contact
the South Acton ward councillors and encourage them to reverse the decision.
If you live elsewhere, contact your local councilor and encourage them
to push for the scheme. You can find their e-mail address at:
http://www.ealing.gov.uk/council/councillors/ward+map.asp
But there is also a lesson here. We need to be vigilant to prevent this
happening again. The solution is to keep an eye on what’s happening
in your area by looking at the agenda for your local area committee meetings.
http://www.ealing.gov.uk/council/committees/areacommittees/default.asp
These meetings are open to the public, and can be swayed by those who
turn up, so if a cycling scheme is up for debate, please go along and
support it.
Transport for London have postponed
publication of their detailed plans for the Uxbridge Road tram. They were
due to deposit plans in December this year, but that has now been put
back to next spring to allow time for an assessment of the traffic management
issues involved. We approached TfL in September and asked to see details
of how the plans provided for cyclists, they replied that the best time
to show us would be early next year when “we will have done more
work on our road safety and cycle audits.”
The TfL press release announcing the delay can be found at:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/press-centre/press-releases/press-releases-content.asp?prID=521
Thieves in South Ealing removed a 'no parking' sign from the top of a post and then lifted a bike, including the D-lock with which it was secured, over the top of the pole. The theft happened between 2.45 and 10 pm ouside the Rose and Crown pub in South Ealing Road. We recommend that cyclists use bike stands in open, easily visible locations wherever possible.
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.
