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9/1999. Acton Bike Project The Acton Bike
project was founded in April, 1999, and operates from a converted
container adjacent to the Bollo Brook Youth Center on the South
Acton Estate. The aims of the Bike Project are teach 12-14 year
olds bike repair skills and bike safety awareness and provide productive
activity for the younger residents of the estate. The project currently
attracts 30 participants. The Bike Project is adminstered by a paid
staff person assisted by officers from the Metropolitan Police's
South Acton Working Sector. There is an vital need for unwanted
bicycles (BMX/Mountain types), bicycle spares, and volunteer assistance
on Saturday mornings between 10:30a.m. - 1:30p.m. Tony de Souza
from LCC and other members are refurbishing old bikes and teaching
repair skills to the children of the area. The project was featured
in the London Cyclist, June 1999, page 4. Error! Bookmark not defined..
If you can help, please contact Gill Jesson, Manager, Oak Tree Community
Center on 0181 993-9506. 9/1999. We
have produced a strong and forthright Borough Cycling Strategy.
Please give it a read. 29/8/1999. Uxbridge Road Front Page News! The joint ECC/FoE
work on surveying and campaigning to improve the Uxbridge Road for
cyclists (see full item below) was front page news in this week's
Leader, and also featured in the Gazette. The article, "Cycle
Lanes are too Dangerous: potential cyclists are avoiding hopping
on the saddle because Uxbridge Road is too dangerous" highlights
the fact that Ealing had the second largest accident count for cyclists
in Outer London last year, with a third of the 150 casualties occurring
on the Uxbridge Road. Our suggested list of improvements is Error!
Bookmark not defined.. 8/1999. Bike Rack Warning. A member reports
a new trick by bike thieves. In the middle of the night, rivets
holding the rack to the ground are removed, filed down and replaced,
giving the impression that nothing is wrong. Thieves then wait for
an unsuspecting cyclist to park, wait, then lift the stand away
from ground and slide the bike off. So check your rack when you
park. 8/1999. Pavement cycling: a warning. From 1st August
1999, police in the UK have the power to issue a fixed penalty notice
of £20 for anyone cycling on a pavement. The Home Office state
that this is to provide the police with a direct and simple means
of dealing with inconsiderate cycling (which we disappove of) and
not to punish ".... responsible cyclists who sometimes feel
obliged to use the pavement out of fear of dangerous traffic on
the roads, and who show consideration to other pavement users when
doing so" (Charles Clarke, the Home Office, August 1999). A
penalty cannot be issued to anyone younger than 16. We will see
what effect this new law has, and hope the local Police will use
their discretion in applying it. 8/1999. Just when things were going so well See Newsletter,
August 1999)......extraordinary events have taken place that could
substantially transform transport policy in the Borough. As reported
in the Ealing Leader and in the Gazette, the Head of the Council's
Transport Divison, Danny Metzger, was ordered before magistrates
at Bow Street on July 29th, 1999. The allegations concern bribery,
and he is on bail until October 7th. The allegations are to do with
the award of 'traffic warden services' in Ealing to a contractor.
According to the Gazette, these contracts are lucrative, and worth
up to £1.8 million a year. Traffic warden duties are currently
handled by TFM, a local company. Fortunately no other tendering
and contracting arrangements are under suspicion, or are currently
being investigated by the auditors or by the police. Metzger is on
suspension with full pay, and this suspension appears to relate
to a separate issue - the unsatisfactory performance of the Transport
Division, not to the fraud allegations above. In particular, the
work of the Roads Committee has been widely questioned following
its last meeting, held in July 1999. Metzger has worked for Ealing
Council for 12 years, and has been one of the key people involved
in changing Ealing's transport policy in recent times. Metzger will
be partially replaced by an 'interim assistant Director of Transport
Planning and Strategy', Andrew Flockhart, who is moving from Newport
in Wales. We hope the work of the Transport Division will not be
too affected. 8/1999. Hurrah. At last! Remember ECC's
idea to build a cycle-only contraflow to Ealing Broadway railway/tube
station up the Broadway from Uxbridge Road, back in 1996? We
thought this proposal had sunk without trace, given the opposition
of the local councillor and bureaucratic delays. Anyway it is back
on the agenda - four new proposals for pedestrianisation and route
calming around the station all include the contraflow. Public feedback
is being sought on these proposals. 8/1999. The Council are putting in a London Cycling Network bid for 2000 in the region of £675,000 pounds. The very most
they are likely to get would be £300,000 pounds. This has
to be spent on what they call the 'coarse network' i.e. major London
Cycle Network routes such as Uxbridge Road / Boston Road. For comparison,
this year they only received £100,000 pounds. 8/1999. There has been a considerable public backlash to some modest proposals for the Oldfield Circus area in Greenford. The Council
planned to put in some stop and shop bays, and convert speed humps
to speed cushions, to enable a bus route to be put in, as well as
making life easier for cyclists. 300 people turned up to a public
meeting, most of them objecting to the plans. 8/1999. At the end of July two transport
planners from Odense in Denmark arrived in Ealing to advise the
Council on improving cycle facilities in the Borough. About 30 years
ago Odense had one of the highest rates for traffic accidents in
Europe, since then they have implemented road improvement measures,
including traffic free zones, wide cycle lanes, and restricted speed
areas, which have not only cut the accident rate to one of the lowest
in Europe, but have also increased cycling, so that 30 percent of
journeys are now by bike. "I suppose we're about 20 years behind
you," suggested Glenn our borough co-ordinator to one of the
Danes. "More than that," he replied grimly. 8/1999. Some months ago a group of residents in West Ealing ( Broughton,
Hastings, Arden, Denmark & Hartington Roads) launched a campaign
to create a Home Zone - a continental idea to create traffic-calmed
streets safe for pedestrians, cyclists and children, generally permitting
cars to pass through at about 10mph and often with controlled permit
parking for residents. Their web site is Error! Bookmark not defined..
Within a few months, tentative support from Ealing Council had been
obtained, and furthermore the Government announced support for 9
pilot Home Zone initiatives nationally, including theirs. On August
4th 1999 a Government delegation visited a street party in Broughton
Road to make their announcement, and there was wide media coverage.
The Five Roads Forum are to be congratulated on this swift acceptance
of their Home Zone. It is a great idea - but is controlled parking
really necessary to insure safety? 6/1999. The
LCC head office are now selling the new City Cycle Guides
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showing routes
and points of importance in west London, to match up the existing,
popular Central London Cycling Map. Map production is partially
funded by Glaxo Wellcome. ECC provided recommended routes for inclusion
on the map. Error! Bookmark not defined. 5/7/1999. Uxbridge Road The Council
has insisted that the Uxbridge Road appears as a cycle lane on the
new LCC and Glaxo-sponsored cycle maps of West London (see above),
even though the Bristol-based company producing the maps felt that
it was too dangerous and fragmentary to be suitable for inclusion
- as we did. But good news: in November 1998, consultants Allott
& Lomax surveyed the Uxbridge Road for the Council and developed
a plan for improving the cycle route along it - we have the report.
We have also Error! Bookmark not defined.. Click on the blue to
read the report. Also in June 1999, Bob Davis began a study of the
road for the council as part of the London Cycle Network: trying
to reduce the danger to cyclists and facilitate non-motorised travel.
He is a transport expert who runs the Road Danger Reduction Forum.
There have been 137 road traffic accidents at 53 locations on the
Uxbridge Road. When you remove incidents of people opening car doors,
for example, you are left with a sprinkling of incidents along the
whole length of the road with clusters of perhaps three or four
at junctions. Using this data is difficult since it produces no
obvious black spot or solution. Bob is going to complete his study
by the end of August 1999 and present it to the Transport Committee
in September. 27/4/1999. NATIONAL BIKE WEEK 1999 (June 12th-20th) The following
events happened in Bike week: * Saturday 12th
June 10.00 - 17.30. 'Doctor Bike' took place on the green between
Bond Street and High Street, outside the photographer and Firkin
pub in Ealing. We checked bikes and fixed them up if we could, and
also postcode-stamped them for security. Over thirty bikes fixed,
and 72 maps sold - thanks everybody! Error! Bookmark not defined.
* Sunday 13th
June, 12.30pm. 500 Cyclists attended a Critical Mass meeting, ride
and rally in Richmond Park. The event was trouble-free, and it has
been featured in London Cyclist magazine and on the 'London Today'
TV programme. Further events are carrying on throughout the summer,
to hammer the point home that Richmond Park should not be used as
a car commuter route. Meet on September 5th and October 3rd 1999
to protest against the use of the park for through-motor traffic
at weekends. Starts 2pm, Richmond Gate. See Error! Bookmark not
defined. * Wednesday
16th June. Cyclists' breakfast held outside the Town Hall during
the morning rush hour. Free orange juice and croissants distributed.
* Wednesday
16th June. Evening cycle ride around the Borough, for the fourth
year running. About 30 people attended - good fun, but where were
you all? The Transport
Advisory Committee of Ealing Council met on 20th May 1999. Among
the issues debated were a refined definition of what we mean by
'Sustainable Transport' in Ealing, with a good paper presented by
Nic Ferriday of Error! Bookmark not defined.; a revision to planning
policies for parking in the Council's 'Plan for the Environment'
(cycle parking policy usefully updated here); and a report on Heathrow
Teminal 5. A paper on access to cars in Ealing revealed that 36.6%
of Borough residents do not have access to one, with ownership rates
being lowest in Southall and Acton (between 40% and 55% without).
This leads us to support especial attention to public transport
and cycling initiatives in these areas. The new Mayor
of Ealing, Phil Portwood, was sworn in in mid-May 1999. He is
very keen to cycle to official functions, and Error! Bookmark not
defined.! He plans to keep cycling where possible, and has attached
the Mayorial Crest to his bike. In addition a 'Millennial Ale' brewed
in his name is available from the Photographer and Firkin pub, the
Green, Ealing! News from
the Local Agenda 21 Transport Group meeting on 13th April 1999
- your democratic voice for debate on local transport and environmental
issues (no web link yet). * The meeting
agreed to write to the chair of the Transport Advisory Committee
(see below), and local councillors to object to the removal of 200
metres of cycle lane on the west-bound carriage-way of the Uxbridge
Road in Southall. (It was replaced with 24 pay-and-display car parking
spaces - also see below) * It was also
agreed to complain about the cycle-unfriendly humps that have been
put in on the east side of Northfields Avenue. These controvene
all the best-practice for speed design that ECC have been campaigning
for over the years. What happened to bypass lanes, or speed cushions?
* It was decided
that recent decisions by the council concerning cyclists interests
were so far removed from 'good practice' that a guide of recommendations
would be drawn up by June for presentation to the Transport Advisory
Committee (read itError! Bookmark not defined.). * The Roadcraft
Centre, which dealt with road safety and cycle training, is coming
back under Council control. BRETS/Cardinal have administered it
recently. Suggestions for its role? Contact us. 20/3/1999.
The following letter appeared in the Ealing & Acton Gazette
on 19th March 1999 : "Going
against traffic flow. Q: When is a cycle lane not a cycle lane?
A: When Ealing Council paints car parking bays over the top of it.
Ealing council takes every opportunity to tell us how it promotes
the use of alternative forms of transport - buses, tubes, bicycles
and walking - so I find it incredible that in the week that the
Labour government put the cost of motoring up in the Budget to encourage
these other forms of transport, the council decides to buck the
trend and paint car parking bays over the top of a cycle lane. Not
as you might think, some out-of-the-way, little-used side road,
but in Uxbridge Road, Southall, which must be one of the most hazardous
cycle lanes in the borough. Full marks to the planners and councillors
for having their fingers on the pulse. I do appreciate having my
life put at greater risk so that the motorist doesn't have to walk
the extra 20 yards to his car." letter from
Geoff Allen, Myrtle Gardens, Hanwell. Visit this site.
It is on the West bound side of the road in the centre of Southall
and it really is quite extraordinary. Where there was once a cycle
lane, there are now about 24 parking bays with pay and display meters
together with a long loading bay, making progess on a bike difficult
(photo). To install some of them the Council have even removed the
double yellow lines. (Error! Bookmark not defined.) and Error! Bookmark
not defined. - a shorter version and photo also appeared in the
London Cyclist, August 1999. Please write to the planners at the
Council if you have the time, and copy us your letters. Email Error!
Bookmark not defined., Andrew Flockhart, interim head of Transport.
STOP PRESS AUG 1999- we have got action on this one. They will now
cut the parking bays into the pavement and reinstate a cycle lane
on the outside. These new proposals are being rushed through as
part of the Acton and Southall Bus Priority Network. 2/1999: Our
objection to the A4020 (Uxbridge to Marble Arch) becoming designated
as a Red-Route has been successful, according to a parliamentary
answer by Glenda Jackson in the House of Commons on 10 Feb 1999.
Had the Uxbridge Road been so designated, it would be liable to
carry heavier traffic loadings, as have other major trunk roads
in the London and the South East. Five Local Authorities objected
to its inclusion in the red-route network as did one other non-governmental
organisation. One freight organisation and one transport operator
supported its inclusion. It will now remain under the control of
the various local authorities and not become part of the Greater
London Authority Network. Now that the Uxbridge Road's future is
decided perhaps we should campaign for a proper cycle lane along
it. 12/1998.
ECC (Ealing Cycling Campaign) have been invited to attend the new
Transport Advisory Committee set up by our Council. This is
an all-party committee that seeks to gather views from all parts
of the community about new traffic proposals. As part of this work
we have agreed to write a report on cycling with Friends of the
Earth. This will go to TAC for their February 1999 meeting. TAC
is good news - it has previously been very difficult for residents
to put across their views to the committees that vote on transport
policy in Ealing (the Roads Sub Committee and the Local Agenda 21
Transport Group were the two other possibilities). 12/1998.
ECC have made a response to a request for feedback on the best cycle
parking facilities to install in the Borough's leisure facilities.
Paul Hyman, Head of Leisure Strategy at Ealing Council has consulted
with ECC on the design of cycle parking facilities.Error! Bookmark
not defined. 10/1998. Ealing Council has obtained funding from the EU (from the 'LIFE' budget) for a project called SALSA (Sustainable Access to Leisure Sites and Amenities); to improve ease
of access to amenities for young people, eg swimming pools, sports
grounds, etc. There is much concern over children's inactivity as
a result of being driven everywhere. The budget is small, so much
attention is being given to getting the plans right in consultation
with the users of the facilities before installation. Cycling to
leisure facilities will be encouraged, and enhanced. Error! Bookmark
not defined.for website and details. 10/1998. Elthorne Park school: The new school,
just to the south of Elthorne Park in West Ealing, is the subject
of much debate about access and traffic. Suggested main routes to
the school, accessible by a variety of modes and serving its catchment
area, have been presented by the Council for possible traffic management
and safety enhancement. In response, ECC have drafted a plot of
the children's homes by using their postcodes, showing the great
majority live in the housing to the east of Boston Manor Road and
west of Northfields Avenue. The idea is to get the children across
Boston Manor Road - the obvious danger area - by focussing them
into one spot opposite the school to use a light-controlled crossing.
One good cycle route running east to west across the residential
area will act as a funnel to get the children to the crossing. A
walk involving ECC and the Mayor of the streets involved in traffic
management plans took place in June 1999 and was featured in the
Ealing Gazette. Progress is slow on this scheme, but ongoing - the
"Boston Manor sustainable transport package" i.e. Safe
routes to Fielding / Elthorne Park schools will go forward for committee
approval. 10/1998. Council BUG: A bicycle users' group (BUG) has been set up for Ealing Borough Council employees. The ECC are assisting with maintenance classes and cycle training. In addition, a comprehensive survey of Council travel-to-work patterns has been prepared and was later released (it makes depressing reading). |
