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Ealing Liberal Democrat Councillor Athena Zissimos calls on Ealing Council and TfL to fix A40 subway and Hanger Lane Gyratory issues

Councillor Athena Zissimos, Ealing Liberal Democrat spokesperson for the environment, calls on Ealing Council and Transport for London (TfL) to work together and fix ongoing issues of the Hanger Lane Gyratory and subway underneath the A40 .

The Councillor for Hanger Hill, says the subway is poorly maintained and regularly gets flooded. She is calling on TfL and Ealing Council to improve the subway.

“I met a pedestrian last week trying to cross the A40 to get to a Doctor’s appointment on the other side, the subway under the A40 was completely flooded, it was impassable with at least 15cm of water, she was forced to turn around and get herself an Uber, to effectively cross the road.

“TFL cannot possibly be surprised by the flooding, it is a constant, the gullies and drains are blocked with silt, litter and even leaves blown into the subways. Ealing Council has just granted planning approval for hundreds more flats nearby, more and more residents will be dependent on these subways to cross the road, is TFL up to the task, and will it work with the Council to sort out the problems.

“Hanger Lane Gyratory is cut by the A40 and the North Circular. There is a myriad of jurisdictional lines of who is responsible for what between Ealing Council and TFL when it comes to this part of Ealing. For instance the footpaths/cycle paths on the A40 used by pedestrians and cyclists are swept by Ealing Council, but the verges are meant to be looked after by TFL, but despite requests for overgrowth to be cut back that is blocking paths and assurances that is has been done, it is not done.

“Then we come to the subway system that crosses the A40 and the North Circular, again it is a joint venture, swept by Ealing Council, but the gullies and drains are the responsibility of TFL.

“TFL seems to not inspect any of the parts of the subway system that they are responsible for, they seem to rely on members of the public, and Councillors like me, to bring things to their attention, nothing is done pro-actively, everything is done in response to, and even that is a chore, having in some cases to ask more than once for flooding to be attended to.

“There is no co-ordination between the Council to sweep silt and leaves away from drains and TFL to clean drains, so the subways and drains are never really clean, hence the constant battle to sort out the flooding. Surely there must be a better way.

“Pedestrians and cyclists do not have much choice in using the subway system to cross the road around the Gyratory system, to enter Hanger Lane Tube, to get to bus stops on the other side of the A40, TFL should be doing better, and Ealing Council should be doing better. They should both be talking to each other and working out some sort of maintenance plan to keep the subways and the pathways clean, dry and passable.”

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