High Street Safety Plan for Acton

Exhibition at Acton Library Friday Nov 9

Ealing Council are consulting with Acton residents over a major scheme to make the High Street safer. They have sent the consultation document to over 4,000 households mainly in the roads leading to and from the High Street and the Vale.  

In an effort to reduce casualties on the roads, the Council plan to bring in traffic calming schemes and safety schemes by installing pedestrian crossings, introducing cycle training and making major changes to the road lay-out, including making Market Place a 'no right turn' from Acton High Street.  

We spoke to two of the businesses on Market Place. Mrs Davda of CD Electrical Security and DIY told us: "I have strong feelings about this. If cars can't turn right into Market Place, we will lose out on passing trade. People won't come in to the shop. There are some useful parking spaces outside and people tend to stop there and pop in to the shop. If this is made less convenient, it will make it hard for us." Mr Ladha of Marketplace Health Foods said: "I've been trading here for 20 years. Stopping the traffic driving up Market Place would be bad for my business."  

Anyone wishing to take part in the consultation must reply to the Council by November 19th.  

A Public Exhibition will be held at Acton Library
on Friday 9 November (11am to 4.30pm) and
Saturday 10 November (10am to 3pm). This will give people a chance to look at the plans in closer detail. Staff will be on hand to answer questions. The outcome of the Public Consultation
will be reported to Acton Area Committee, who will make a final decision on the scheme.

The changes are being made because in 2000, a target was set to reduce casualties on our roads by 2010. The aim is to

• Reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on the road by 50%;
• Reduce the number of children killed or seriously injured by 60%; and
• Reduce the slightly injured casualty rate by 25%

The Council want to reduce casualties by:
• Implementing traffic calming schemes and safety schemes.
• Installing new pedestrian crossing facilities, particularly outside schools.
• Introducing an extensive programme of on-road cycle training.

The Council would like to implement a scheme that is best suited to the local community,
and welcomes views on the proposals. Here is the consultation document which has been sent out to households:  

Acton High Street Safety Scheme

Acton High Street has a high accident rate compared to other similar roads in the borough. Since 2004, there has been 1 fatality, 9 serious and 76 slight personal injury accidents, of which 35 involved edestrians. The Council proposes to introduce a package of measures to create an urban safety zone in Acton High Street.

The scheme aims to improve safety and the quality of the streetscape, which would enhance the liveability of Acton Town Centre area. The Council is also producing a development framework that will set out the strategic context for future development in Acton Town Centre and offer proposals for key sites and buildings. This would contribute to achieving the overall vision for Acton. The proposed safety scheme will
form part of the strategy because of the wider benefits it could bring.

The main elements of the proposed safety scheme are as follows:

Zone 1: 20 mph zone along part of Acton High Street including gentle raising of road surface to pavement level at key locations; banned right turn from High Street to Market Place (with exemptions for buses and cyclists); extended right turn lane at the junction with Steyne Road; provision of loading bays; footway improvements; kerb realignment and reduced street clutter along the High Street.
Zone 2: Improvements around the railway bridge including bus gate relocation and shortening of bus lane (subject to TfL approval) and textured carriageway at the junction with Mansell Road. Zone 3: Junction improvements at High Street/ Steyne Road including dedicated straight and left lanes (eastbound); realignment of pedestrian islands.
Zone 4: Junction improvements at High Street/ Gunnersbury Lane including road widening on south kerb.
Scheme wide improvements along the entire High Street including traffic light synchronisation to improve traffic flow, removal of street clutter, tree planting and footway improvements.

Possible Advantages:
• Reductions in speed and accidents;
• Better facilities for pedestrians and cyclists as well as an improved streetscape;
• Improved traffic flow.

Possible Disadvantages:
• Disruption to residents and local businesses during works;
• Inconvenience of loss of right turn to Market Place.

The budget allocated by Transport for London is not sufficient to complete the proposed scheme in one go. Therefore the scheme will be implemented in three phases. The first phase (to be decided during detail design) is to be completed in 2008, and bids have been/will be submitted to TfL for funding to complete the scheme. The remaining phases will be implemented when funding becomes available.

November 2, 2007