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Ealing Council wants to make it easier for Southall residents to get moving

Ealing Council is inviting Southall residents to share their thoughts on how to get the public to ditch the car and use other forms of transport including cycling, scooting and walking to “create streets that get people moving and that are less congested, safer, greener, and more pleasant for all road users”.

In its Get Southall Moving consultation that runs until 25 June 2023, the council along with its town partner Let’s Go Southall, is looking to engage across the community about what it says is  “how to make it easier for everyone to get moving – walking, cycling, jogging, scooting, or even hopping, skipping and jumping.”

The council says that earlier this year with partner Let’s Go Southall, it spoke to the local community about how people travel around Southall and what improvements are needed. Following this, over 350 feedback forms were completed and it also had 40 businesses completed its survey. It now says: “we listened to all this feedback and have come up with some draft ideas that we would like your thoughts on”.

Councillor Deirdre Costigan, the council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for climate change said: “We know that traffic congestion, air pollution and road safety are major concerns for Southall residents. That’s why we are doing this consultation, to find out what local people think about how we can make our streets safer, cleaner and more pleasant for everyone. As an open, transparent and inclusive council, we want to hear from residents about what they think will work best.”

Speaking to EALING.NEWS, Neil Reynolds, chair of Ealing Green Party said: “In general these plans are welcome. The pace of change is however modest, and the rate of implementation slow. We are still several months before the final part of the consultation, let alone beginning work.”

As well as an online survey to fill out which is here, the council is also holding a series of open events including drop in sessions at The Dominion Centre 27 May 2023 from 2pm – 4pm and 8 June 2023 2pm – 4pm. It is also holding a workshop at Southall Manor House 24 June 2023 10am – 1pm.

Other events to get travel feedback from the Southall community include focus groups taking place at religious organisations and schools.

The Get Southall Moving consultation comes 18 months after the council revealed that through Sports England funding, 2,500 bicycles would be given to Southall residents as part of Let’s Ride Southall to encourage locals to take up cycling.  In November 2021, it also said physical activity of Southall residents was less than the national average.

“Physical inactivity levels in Southall (43%) are significantly higher than the average nationally (25%) and in the borough (24%). By encouraging the option of cycling as an alternative mode of transport to driving, Let’s Ride Southall has enabled people to become active as part of their everyday lives, with many pledging to make it a long term lifestyle change.”

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