On Yer Bike!

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Cycling hubs to encourage more pedal power in Ealing

Ealing Council has announced the creation of ‘cycle hubs’ as part of its Cycling Strategy for the next five years.

The strategy aims to encourage more people to take to two wheels as their regular mode of transport. As one of Transport for London’s Biking Boroughs, Ealing Council will focus on creating a local culture of cycling and will introduce town centre locations known as cycle hubs.

Hubs are areas where innovative ideas for cycling can be piloted and where resources can be targeted to increase cycling. Ealing’s new hubs will be located in areas with a high concentration of cyclists. Lighting and bike parking will be improved to increase convenience and security. Ealing Broadway, South Acton, Southall Broadway, Elthorne, Northolt and Greenford have all been identified as potential locations for the hubs. The council will now work with key stakeholders to develop the cycle hub concept further.

Other actions from the strategy include:
• Extending off-road routes
• Building on existing cycle training and continuing to provide advice to new or existing cyclists
• Continuing highway engineering schemes to break down barriers which inconvenience or endanger cyclists

Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, cabinet member for Transport and Environment, said:
“Cycling is an incredibly efficient mode of transport. It’s fast, environmentally friendly and cheap, with the added bonus of keeping you fit. Our aim is to treble the number of cycle trips by 2026 so we need to continue to break down the barriers to cycling and show people how convenient and safe it is. The council is committed to making cycling as easy as possible for residents and we will continue to prioritise funding towards improvements that benefit bike riders. The creation of cycling hubs, focuses our resources and enables us to make a real difference for cyclists - we really want to encourage people to use their bike every day for commuting or regular trips around town.”

David Eales, project manager for Ealing Cycling Campaign, said:
"Ealing Cycling Campaign welcomes the innovative cycling strategy from Ealing Council and looks forward to working with the council in delivering the vision."

The hubs will be created with funds from TFL’s Local Implementation Plan.

You can find out more about cycling in Ealing at: http://www.ealing.gov.uk/services/transport_and_streets/cycling and www.ealingcycling.org.uk.

 

27 October 2010