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Work is now under way to create the schedule of links to help the council decide priorities and be reminded of the work that needs to be done on each link. You can see the latest position, including a map and explanatory notes, here.
The cycle path across Ealing Common has got an improved crossing at the western end (near The Grove). The raised speed table has been poured and had its white markings painted on in recent days. It's plenty wide enough for pedestrians and cycle riders to share.
You might remember that for a few years now a loop of roads in central London have been closed to motor traffic for a day, under the banner of 'London Freewheel', and Ealing Cycling Campaign has led groups of riders there and back. Great fun all round, especially for kids and those who wouldn't normally dream of riding round London's landmarks like The Mall.
Well, there won't be a 'London Freewheel' this year, but on 24th May there will be the London Festival of Cycling. Ealing Council is putting on two rides, the Ealing Park Rides, open to all, between Pitshanger Park and Churchfields Recreation Ground. They will be led by professional cycling instructors. Further details can be found here at this link.
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You don't expect the name of a football club as the headline of a cycle campaign news item, so I guess I should explain. One of our old friends not only cycles a lot to get from A to B but is a long-standing follower of his local club, Brentford. 'How about combining the two?' he thought, and 18 months ago two supporters came together to form a new fans' group called 'Sustaina-Bees', he began to lead official bike rides to Brentford's home games and the London away games, and it caught on. In fact, it caught on so well that the club has hired professional ride leaders, leading four separate rides from Acton, Ealing Broadway, Hounslow East and Richmond, each being led back 15 to 30 minutes after the match. There is now secure, covered, parking for 300 bikes by the ground, watched over by Brentford FC staff. UEFA and the FSA (Football Supporters' Association) have noticed too and given it a mention: good news can travel!
For the game against Manchester United on May 4th people cycling to the stadium will receive a voucher for food (important to cyclists, as we all know) and a drink too.
More details here https://www.brentfordfc.com/en/travel-to-the-stadium
Well done Bicycle Ben!
Ealing Council has published a future cycle network plan of the borough. It is not a map of routes you can ride on now. Some are fine, but others are terrible. Instead, it shows the routes the council will work on improving between now and 2035. The aim is to raise the quality of these routes to the London Cycling Design Standards and the national standards set down in Local Transport Note 1/20. The plan is a requirement of Ealing's Local Plan which has to meet the Mayor of London's target for 40 percent of Londoners to live within 400m of the cycleway network by 2030, and 70 percent by 2041.
Routes in orange are core routes. Purple indicates neighbourhood routes and pink shows key routes that, due to constraints such as narrow width and volume of traffic, it will not be possible to upgrade to the national standards but, where possible, improvements will be made. Green routes are routes through parks and other green spaces.
The map was developed with the help of a wide public consultation. 1,118 residents took part making 1,814 suggestions for improvements. Ealing Cycling Campaign lobbied for high quality routes that cyclists of all abilities could use and for strategic routes not to run in remote, unlit areas. The council has adopted many of our suggestions, and most of the canal towpath is now designated as a green route.
The network is largely a planning tool. It will help planners avoid installing obstructions, such as electric vehicle charging points, where they will later have to be removed to install a cycle lane. It will also indicate where any new developments will need to moved back from the road to create space for protected lanes.
To build the network, priority is likely to be given to routes that are designated as top and high priority on TfL's Strategic Cycling Analysis as these are routes that TfL is most likely to fund (below). The Uxbridge Road is the top potential corridor in Ealing.
To help assess the quality of existing routes and what needs to be done to improve them, ECC has produced a node network of key routes on the new network plan. Completing the core (orange) routes will put over 40 percent of residents within 400m of a cycle route.
Adding the highlighted neighbourhood (purple routes) and completing the node network will put nearly all residents within 400m of a cycle route with good connections across Ealing.
Earlier this month, Ealing council opened a new cycle parking hub near Southall Station. Funded by Transport for London as part of the Crossrail improvements, the new hub has room for 70 bikes. The hub is a 2 minute walk south of the station on the corner of South Road and Merrick Road.
The parking is on two levels, and all but four spaces are under cover.
In the post-war years, business boomed. The nearby Wilkinson's Sword factory helped as most workers rode bicycles to work. In the 1960s, however sales of bicycles slumped. The shop diversified and for 20 years also sold and repaired mopeds. By the 1980s sales of bicycles were on the rise again, and Don went "back to the real love of my life and that’s the bicycle’.
Roger started working at the business in 1962, and took over running it in 1988. Malcolm joined in 2002. In 2009, shortly before Roger retired, the shop was refitted. Every room, including the bathroom was used to hold stock, and despite its small size, the shop held over 200 bikes, giving it the nickname, the Aladdin's Cave of Bikes.
Roger Woolsey in the shop in 2007
In a closing statement on their website, Malcolm Woolsey wrote: "After 70 years, we regret to announce that we will be closing the business on the 28th September 2024. After 3 generations, the time has sadly come to move on to pastures new. We would like to thank our customers both old and new for their continued support over the years."
"We have seen many changes over the years, both in life and in bikes and have many memories over the years, many of which we can thank our on going customers for. The occasional gifts we get that show the true appreciation from you and means so much to us."
