From big, new cycling routes to thousands of pothole repairs; and from safer school journeys for children to free bike repairs, Ealing Council has been committed to making travelling around the borough safer, easier and cleaner.
This work over the last 4 years has been underpinned by a £28million investment to improve road safety, boost cycling, cut congestion, and tackle air pollution.
Safer cycling
The council’s cycle network plan, published in 2024, sets out its 10-year approach to add more cycle lanes, safer routes and clearer signs for cyclists to travel across the borough.
Councillor Paul Driscoll, the council’s cabinet member for climate action, said: “We know that safety is one of the biggest considerations for people thinking about cycling. That’s why we’ve added so many cycle routes across the borough along with a package of support to encourage people to leave their car at home and choose a bike instead.”
Within 6 months of adding a new cycle path in Kensington Road, Northolt, cameras had recorded a 30% increase in cycling in the area.
Other ways the council has helped people to feel more confident on a bike is by offering free cycle training for children and adults. Almost 6,000 children and 1,744 adults have received Bikeability training since 2022. While 5,100 children also learned how to ride their scooters safely to school.
Alongside this, the borough recently celebrated the introduction of its 50th school with a school street creating calmer, safer environments at school gates and encouraging thousands of families to walk or wheel as part of their daily routine.
Free cycle repairs
Free ‘Dr Bike’ sessions offer checks by mechanics to see if your bike is roadworthy and make small adjustments or repairs. More are due to take place in Hanwell, Ealing and West Ealing in February and March. Sessions also take place in Southall on the last Saturday of the month.
More information is available on the cycling pages of the council’s website.
Better places to park your bike
“Not having somewhere safe and affordable to store your bike can also put people off having a bike, which is why we installed 150 bike hangars costing cyclists only 70p a month to use. It’s also been encouraging to see more people choosing electric bikes and scooters for hire in our 7 towns,” added Councillor Driscoll.
Smoother journeys
Maintaining smooth, safe routes is vital for cyclists and pedestrians. And the council has made substantial improvements through resurfacing programmes and pothole repairs.
More than 7,500 potholes have been repaired since 2023 — an average of 10 every day — making a meaningful difference to everyday journeys across the borough.
Dozens of highways team members recently worked through the night in Northolt on one of the borough’s biggest ever resurfacing projects in Church Road and Mandeville Road.
Switching to electric car journeys
Supporting the take-up of electric vehicles (EVs) will help to improve air quality by cutting harmful emissions from petrol-fuelled cars, vans and lorries. Already, more than 1,000 charge points are in place but the council is aiming to more than double that number to around 2,500 by 2030 to make it even easier for residents to charge their EVs.
