A new cycle hub, funded by Transport for London and Ealing Council, has opened as part of the Southall Station Crossrail upgrade to allow safe, secure and covered storage for up to 66 bikes.

Located next to the station, at the junction of South Road Bridge and Merrick Road, the hub aims to increase cycling to and from the station and supports Ealing Council’s commitment to enabling residents and visitors, who are able to, to choose active travel for short everyday journeys.

Leader of Ealing Council, Councillor Peter Mason added: “Half of the traffic in Southall passes through, contributing nothing to the community except congestion and increased levels of air pollution.

So, by choosing these more sustainable travel options, we are all contributing to improving the health and wellbeing of the people of Southall by reducing congestion and air pollution and making the streets safer. We’ve invested £15m in our own plans to create a healthier, safer and greener Southall and I’m looking forward to seeing these take shape this year.”

The council’s cabinet member for climate action, Councillor Paul Driscoll, added: “I’m delighted to see this cycle hub complete. Not only will it provide a practical, safe and secure storage option for those already cycling to and from the station, but I hope it will encourage more people to cycle and use public transport to enjoy this wonderful part of our borough.”

Ealing council to ‘Get Southall Moving’

Last year Ealing Council launched plans to ‘Get Southall Moving’ by making Southall healthier, safer and greener, prioritising active travel, and in turn improving residents’ health and wellbeing.

A number of projects will take shape over the coming year, as part of a borough-wide investment to improve public spaces, encourage active travel and make the roads safer.

The first set of improvements will take place at Bankside, where a new crossing point for pedestrians will be installed to replace the current informal crossing.

The improvements come as part of the wider Southall Reset Programme which launched in 2022 to tackle challenges that are specific to Southall.

More than 800 people shared their ideas on how make Southall streets safer and less congested, and the final proposed improvements include:

• a wider, shared pathway for pedestrians and cyclists that connects the canal to the western side of Merrick Road
  
• formalising the existing crossing, so it’s safer to cross, and widening of the pavement to make a shared pathway (north of Norwood Road roundabout)
  
• wider pavements and traffic lights at the crossing at Havelock Road and Guru Nanak Road, making the road narrower to cut crossing time and make it safer
  
• reduce the number of lanes along Merrick Road to one each way
  
• better lighting to improve visibility and safety.

Ealing Council would like to say a huge thank you to Let’s Ride Southall, Transport for London and Southall Active Communities who joined them for the opening of the cycle hub.