Forum Topic

Warning for Culmington Road Residents

I spotted this alert on the roadworks update on this site. It looks like the council is set to try and install the modal filters for Culmington Road and the other nearby streets tomorrow morning. If those who believe these schemes are illegal want to stop it — they might be advised to be up early. 

Gordon Southwell ● 1644d38 Comments

I bet! I used to live in H&F it is a much better place to live in every respect and I regret moving Ealing, I haven't really got to like anything about it even after 10yrs.Just counting down till I can escape!

M Powes ● 1618d

Walking around Acton I always feel that, of its closest neighbours, Hammersmith would be the best fit for affiliation.

Philip Coe ● 1618d

Yes.And we Actonians would like our own Council back too please. 😉

Rosco White ● 1618d

Is Ealing just too big and disparate to be effectively governed at a local level?

M Powes ● 1618d

Hi Rosco - it seems there is no workable solution - we all know Bell&Co will steamroller this change permanently regardless of the views of the people it affects - they are happy to wage war on the people they should be representing. What about a financial boycott of Ealing Broadway - if we can't drive there, we can't spend money (once covid restrictions are relaxed). We continue spending money in our neighbourhoods, but all businesses in the centre are avoided - these are mostly big chains and could put pressure on the council if their revenues are affected.

Graham Thorpe ● 1628d

Yes, I think it would be better if we didn't have Local Councils controlled by the major political parties.I know that Epsom is different and Isleworth was also different.  So is Fromehttps://www.flatpackdemocracy.co.uk/However Frome have done more than declare a Climate Emergency they are clearly and obviously doing something about it.So take a look:https://www.frometowncouncil.gov.uk/your-community/resilience/climate-emergency/

Philippa Bond ● 1630d

For me, my position has always been crystal clear on here, I certainly have no time for the Local Conservatives, as I state time and again. However, given the situation we are stuck with, it is simply a case of the lesser of two evils.  Anything but BellEnd.I have put forward two reasonable solutions to our local problems - Local Residents Associations to contest OR Local Parties to form a Coalation.I am now out of ideas!    😊

Rosco White ● 1630d

Nobody has really satisfactorily answered Mark's question. The LTNs are generally not working as they should but as a concept they have been formed via the Department of Transport. Ealing looks set to get further funding from central government which cannont be seen as anything other than an endorsement of what has happened so far.  If we had a Conservative council are you saying they would have implemented a Conservative government's policy with less enthusiasm? This seems unlikely. All that would have changed is that the LTNs would have been put in different wards, ones the Tories felt they could afford to alienate with little electoral consequence. People who see everything through party political blinkers need to start realising that both Conservative and Labour are complicit in this mess.

Gordon Southwell ● 1630d

If we're lucky, and there IS a God, ole Two Houses will be on his!  😆

Rosco White ● 1632d

On yer bike!

Philippa Bond ● 1632d

VOTE THEM OUT

Colin Goodman ● 1632d

I’m not disagreeing, but it was implied no car paid tax.Unlike bicycles

Peter Yale ● 1634d

Some but not all owners of cars have to pay what is called Vehicle Excise Duty.  Duty is based on emissions.  BEVs are considered emission-free.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vehicle-excise-duty/vehicle-excise-duty

Philippa Bond ● 1634d

If only.  I have to pay it myself.

Philip Coe ● 1634d

Cars pay road tax

Peter Yale ● 1634d

That old chestnut mare !

David Burke ● 1635d

Who pays Road tax ?

David Burke ● 1635d

the 'mare' of Ealing. How apt!

Simon Wycombe ● 1635d

These LTNs have been put in place to favour cyclists, why?Roads are for all vehicles, but cyclists pay no road tax, pass no MOT, can park where they like, disobey traffic regulations- speed cameras, red lights., drive on & off pavements, generally unregistered or insured.Cyclist lobby will cite global warming.Even if every vehicle is electric, that’s still a risk to them.All those who support LTNs, don’t complain when your shopping is delayed. The home delivery can’t get through etc etc.Their journey is 4 times as long, pollution billows out from queues of stationary traffic.Their bus can’t get from a to b (at least in a car you can alternate routes).If you have any package for Khan/Mahfouz/Bell/Sabiers, tell them to pick it up themselves.Councils & TFL cause congestion & pollution. To the Mare of London & TFL, “every journey matters “ - except cars

Peter Yale ● 1635d

Biggest problem with planters and restrictions are the dangers they create.Again not helped by the insane actions of people.There seem to be an element of parents who now take tiny tots out on bikes on the public roads. Quiet or not LTN or not. They are still live roads.On one hand it's good to teach them how to ride safely with traffic on roads.But it's also pretty stupid on live roads in a dense urban commercial environment.These tiny tots on machines that are for recreational learning NOT road use simply cannot be seen emerging from between Planters or vehicles and corners. Not by vehicles or pedestrians.It is pure insanity and parental irresponsibility. No matter how well the child can ride a bike. If they are too small, they are too small. Just like on a Disney ride.I've yet to see one small child on a bike with any means of making them more visible.Children were not allowed on roads under the age of 11 and I do recall the running battles when I was that age or a bit below as the Parks Police and police also banned riding bikes in Parks and pavements!However, on public roads it is a road safety issue and dates back to horse and cart days.  Common sense - nothing to do with ideology. In the USA it has been law for over 60 years for all childrens bikes to have a 5ft orange pennant on the tail of the bike - so they can be seen.  It still applies.Pavements here in South Ealing and Northfields are generally wider than in say Brentford. Not wide enough for adult Cyclists and other machines. But for pedestrians It's easy to social distance when people actually bother.In several streets near both Lammas and Walpole Parks people simply don't, yet residents do.There are grass verges on Church lane. But most of the pavements all over the LTN designated are atrocious. If it's not uneven pavers, it's leaves or year old leaf residue.  Decades of neglect and no monitoring of road repair standards.What would be far better than these LTNs which are so damaging for significant parts of our community who are rather conveniently forgotten about as it's easier, would be to enforce the 20mph in all residential roads.I would support a lowering to 15mph in all but distributor roads but that means all road users including the Uber Cyclists who really need a basic Velodrome built locally. In reality that would bring speeds down to 20mph but apart from a handful locally, its now very rare to see anyone doing 35-40mph when that was very much the norm not so many years ago.From my office I can see over Lammas Park.Every day there are (presumably dog walking groups) meeting in the middle along the Elers road / Windermere Road area.  Groups of up to 17 yet never distancing 2m.There are fitness groups using trees and simply friends of families of 10 or more almost every day sitting very close.  When they leave they disperse so clearly not all in the same household.That's now gone on daily unchecked for months.Cyclists ride two abreast too close. Some shake sweat where pedestrians are near,  spit, & flush out nostrils - which I as a cyclist cannot stand but sometimes it's flies. But not checking before spitting is appalling. Especially if you are the cyclist behind. So to those Cyclists, please think about who is behind you.

Raymond Havelock ● 1635d

Meanwhile, does "Two Houses, Two Jobs, Secret Council Loan, 'It's the Tory cuts!' " care a jot what the residents want? Yes, yes, I know, the ruling Labour Administration are "Looking into it, given the residents reactions." Unfortunately, we are all very jaded from hearing this total "We're listening" BS time and again, for YEARS now.  😆As is wont to be said on here - VOTE THEM OUT!  👍(Before your brain totally rots.)

Rosco White ● 1636d

I didn't think that the block on Culmington Road was supposed to be where it now is.Arthur is right.  Having taken out the island which was in very busy use for residents crossing from one park to another the height of the plant boxes makes it more difficult.  Nobody knows quite where to stand when crossing/waiting to cross.Some weeks ago before the blocks were in place the leaf growth on very low branches of the tree there was obscuring the view of the road/view of pedestrians.  Somebody cut it back (thank you).  Now though it is still difficult - probably worse.  A whole new reworking of this dogleg junction area is necessary Elers Road/Church Lane/Culmington Road/Lammas Park Gdns.  The blocks do slow the traffic with drivers wondering how to deal with the situation they find themselves in. In the past you could stand on the pavement on the corner of Elers Road while motorists drove too fast around the corner and actually over the lowered pavement. This is less likely now.The Evil Knievel no motorised traffic signs are not generally as well understood as the larger red No Entry signs with a smaller except cycles sign underneath. Traffic still needs calming as it leaves South Ealing Road and speeds around the corner on the wrong side of the road on Church Lane or cuts down Coningsby Road/Alacross Road. The whole of Culmington Road on the section leading down to Mattock Lane has trees which need their lower trunk foliage trimming back as it extends across three quarters of the pavement - and we need more space for social distancing on our pavements.

Philippa Bond ● 1636d

'Funding for what exactly?'Funding for transport in London which at the moment all has to come from central government. This is given to TfL which then disburses it to local authorities like Ealing. There are very specific guidelines set by central government as to what the money can be given out for. Ealing are following these guidelines exactly.'And who pays for the funding in any case?'Taxpayers'Already there is a planned huge hike in the GLA transept for council tax along with the Councils own hike.'The government has just spent a huge amount of money - anyone with any income or assets is likely to be paying more tax in the next few years.

Mark Evans ● 1636d

Does not answer the question?Funding for what exactly?  And who pays for the funding in any case?Already there is a planned huge hike in the GLA transept for council tax along with the Councils own hike.

Raymond Havelock ● 1636d

The government controls the purse strings and in London that is done through the TfL board on which the government has two representatives, Andrew Gilligan and Claire Moriarty from the Department for Transport.They have just gone through a very fraught and detailed negotiation which has provided extra funding for TfL. At no point was the issue of how boroughs are spending the money disbursed by TfL on LTNs raised as an issue. It is undeniably within the government's power to stop any of these schemes should they choose. They have not but rather they have endorsed them unequivocally.This is because Andrew Gilligan, the friend of the Prime Minister and his former 'cycling csar' is their most enthusiastic advocate. He blames Sadiq Khan for the cancellation of a number of his projects.Ealing is doing exactly what it is being told by the government and these schemes are the only way the council will get any funding at all. Undeniably they are a willing accomplice and are putting these schemes in place with enthusiasm but their nature and impact is determined by a Conservative run central government.

Mark Evans ● 1636d

Govt constantly passes the buck on potentially controversial issues.https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/nov/01/car-free-neighbourhoods-the-unlikely-new-frontline-in-the-culture-wars

Philippa Bond ● 1637d

Rosco White ● 1638d

LBE obviously, as you well know.And that Government comment gets regularly trotted out ad nauseum and is uninformed.  The fact is that what is being implemented by LBE & some Other Councils is NOT what Councils are supposed to do with the funds. The Government has been at pains to try and explain this. (I am not a Tory Lover either.)

Rosco White ● 1638d

Funding for what though?What is the point of having funding allocated for potty scheme like this when so much needs doing.We have an authority that cannot make it's cleansing services keep pavements and streets properly clean and safe,Cannot get it's social services and care services up to scratchCannot keep it's hands of the Property Developing SirensCannot maintain infrastructureCannot maintain LibrariesAnd yet neighbouring boroughs - some Labour run and some Conservative run can. And some are not taking the funding and not stuffing up the communities.Theres no need for funding for pure vanity. Especially via TfL who are already in critical financial straits.In reality all this 'Funding' will eventually be coming out of every local council tax payers bank account.

Raymond Havelock ● 1638d

Who are you saying we should vote out, Ealing or the government who is making funding to councils conditional on them implementing projects like this?

Mark Evans ● 1638d

  👍

Rosco White ● 1640d

VOTE THEM OUT !

Colin Goodman ● 1641d

District nurses, medical delivers, various volunteers are all seriously affected by the LTNs.So much so that the RVS/NHS is now appealing for more to come forward.I've just seen a 2 month log of a local volunteer and the costs have soared and the ability to attend has fallen.The rapid drop off in the past 6 weeks is simply because a simple task is now taking not 20 mins but well over an hour and there are not enough others to maintain the demand.District Nurses were already overworked and under facilitated before cover.The LTNs have led to many receiving basic stop gap treatment.  Not just here it's become dire in Hammersmith and Fulham.Of course the solution? A special discount for NHS field workers to get a bike.I know one district Nurse sitting not so many feet from me who would like to donate her cycle to a certain council leader minus the saddle.Now even more medical facilities and chemists are no longer easily accessible for those unable to walk or cycle or afford an Uber /minicab( who have increased rates in LTNs significantly) and placed an unsustainable burden on volunteers.How these idiots sleep at night in the knowledge that they are causing many acute suffering is quite incomprehensible to me.

Raymond Havelock ● 1641d

The council have left this road closure in a dangerous condition. The planters partially obscure the crossing pedestrians from cars passing through the gap between the planters...just like a parked car on the zigzags before a zebra crossing. The no entry signs are right at the barrier and there are no prior warning signs for vehicles. There are no signs saying new road layout ahead. You can see cars waiting you can see them hesitating some breaking the law others deciding to take the long diversion. At the end of the day not a job done properly and one that puts pedestrians particularly children at more risk when there was a central reservation to facilitate and make safer crossing at this point. The Council were told about this this afternoon...no response..allgone home? This is a heavily used crossing between the parks.

Arthur Breens ● 1641d

He was on the local news last night. Not about LTNs, though, but about how Ealing has the highest level of Covid in London. He must be so proud.

Susan Kelly ● 1641d

Too late, they are now all up & running.Congratulations Bell you have completely ****ed up half Ealing.All your ridiculous schemes, LTNs, Longfield Ave etc.Pollution & congestion worse than ever.All you expenses fiddling, lieing, cheating mps/councillors hang your heads in shame.TFL too ( who by the way have 500 staff on 100k a year), kick Khan out & disband them.The council & TFL cause congestion & pollution.TFL “every journey matters “ - yes except cars

Peter Yale ● 1641d

No barriers erected as at 15.00hrs today.However, the plant “pots” are sitting on pavement waiting to be lifted in place next week, according to council workmen.Some work has gone ahead though, regardless of the feelings & views of residents.The council & TFL cause traffic congestion & pollution.“Every journey matters!!!”Yes, except cars

Peter Yale ● 1643d

Whether it was your warning or not residents weren't caught out this morning and were there by 6am. I don't know whether or not they were successful in stopping the barriers being implemented.

Mark Evans ● 1643d