Around Ealing Autumn 2016 | Page 33

TRANSPORT Artist’s impression of how phase one could look WELCOME TO maintained and fit for purpose. “Few routes in the centre of the borough are possible without passing through Ealing town centre, which can Creating a better town centre currently be a ealing.gov.uk/cycling little intimidating for cyclists. This is something we intended to address under the council’s original ‘mini Holland’ proposals for improving cycling in the borough. But these new plans will bring change on a much wider scale, beyond cycling, and will benefit everyone.” It is likely that public consultations will be held before any further phases are carried out. These future phases will consider upgrading High Street and the Broadway in the town centre, along with other connecting roads. Phase one, which was due to start in August, will cost £600,000 and will focus on the area from Hanger Lane and Ealing Common, down to The Mall in central Ealing. Funding will come from multiple sources; including from the council, money from developers to offset the impact of their developments, and Transport for London (TfL), Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, cabinet member for transport, environment and leisure, said: “This phased project is an immensely positive step towards revolutionising travel in Ealing by making it safer and more appealing for cyclists of all abilities and pedestrians; while also working on smoothing the flow of traffic and thereby improving the reliability of journey times for all road-users, including bus passengers and motorists. “The transport network in Ealing town centre is one of the busiest, and most key, in the borough and it is crucial that we make sure it is fully “Few routes in the centre of the borough are possible without passing through Ealing town centre” CYCLING STATS 49% of Ealing households own a bike (Office of National Statistics) ■ ■ On average, 16,016 cycle trips are made in Ealing every day (Transport for London) around ealing Autumn 2016 33