Council Accused of Broken Pledges on Ealing Broadway Drop Off
Arrangements said to be inadequate for those with mobility issues
Lib Dem councillor Connie Hersch at Ealing Broadway drop off point
August 24, 2023
Opposition councillors on Ealing Council are accusing the Labour administration of failing to keep their promises over the drop off arrangements at Ealing Broadway station.
Liberal Democrat Councillor Connie Hersch went to check out the configuration of the area outside Ealing Broadway this weekend.
She says she wanted to confirm whether it had been laid out in line with pledges made by the council leader back in June in answer to a question from one of her colleagues.
However, she now claims that the layout does not meet what was pledged and the single drop off bay after the pedestrian crossing is almost invisible so drivers are tending to stop at bus stops instead. The second bay has been made a loading bay only.
The works still needed include improvements to the condition of the grassed area in Haven Green, the removal of the electrical substation in the area as well as the new cycle stands on and around the station forecourt.
Cllr Hersch said, “The Labour-run Ealing Council Leader made promises and when I visited, I was saddened that his promises appear to be a hollow gesture.”
Her colleague Cllr Athena Zissimos said, “Many residents have asked about the environment around Ealing Broadway station given its local importance to residents that use this transport hub, in a word it is a shambles with no end in sight. The one and only drop-off point placed in front of the steps to the station, only just past the zebra crossing is so badly positioned that if you blinked you would miss it and if you were to see it, and it was empty, and dropped off your passenger, if they had mobility issues they would need to move nearly the length of the station to avoid the steps, how much thought went into that? What of the bus stops, the temporary bus stops have become nearly permanent, confusion reigns. Liberal Democrats expect after so much time, that local residents and visitors, especially those who have disability or mobility issues should be given better treatment by Ealing Council and Transport for London, they have had long enough to work it out and get it right, and most importantly get it done.”
At a council meeting in June, Cllr Zissimos asked Councillor Mason to outline the stages for the completion of the works in front of the station and about details on how access is going to be made for those with mobility issues.
Cllr Mason responded by saying that the council’s ability to carry out the planned works has been impeded by delays to the Crossrail programme and that they were due to be finished by the end of last year but he anticipated all work would be done by the end of June including the making good of Haven Green and the removal of the electrical sub-station. He said that cycle stands would also be installed in the coming months, continuing, “Accessibility for those with mobility challenges and disabilities has been at the forefront of our minds from the beginning of the design phases right through implementation. The station will have step free access and widened footpaths from the public highway to the station forecourt. And the pedestrian crossing outside the station forecourt has also been widened to give people more space when entering the station when it is particularly busy. To help wheelchair users we have built bus bays as well as two new step-free drop off bays in front of the station forecourt so that access to the station is not restricted.”
When asked about the criticisms of the Opposition a council spokesperson said, “The new dropping off bay and loading bay have been constructed to make the best use of the available space, and to allow for vehicle drop off access points as close as possible to the front of the station to maximise the benefits for local residents, businesses and all highway users to benefit from.”
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