Transport for London (TfL) is set to investigate installing lifts at two Tube stations across Harrow, after “20 long years” of campaigning, as part of a shortlist of 17 stations.
Canons Park and South Harrow are among 17 Underground stations which will be assessed for step-free access, but a local MP is continuing to champion others that didn’t make the cut. Harrow East MP Bob Blackman and London Assembly Member for Harrow, Krupesh Hirani, have been calling for lifts at the stations to improve access for disabled people, parents with buggies, those with luggage and elderly travellers.
Canons Park and South Harrow have been selected from a long-list of 30 outlined in April, however, Queensbury is among 13 that miss out. TfL has now confirmed it will carry out full feasibility studies into providing step-free access at both stations. The other 15 stations which have been chosen for these investigations are:
Edgware Road
Upton Park
Willesden Green
Wood Green
Kentish Town
Becontree
East Putney
Putney Bridge
Plaistow
Ruislip
Snaresbrook
Blackhorse Road
Dagenham East
Hornchurch
Hatton Cross
Following the news, Mr Hirani AM said: “It’s fantastic news that TfL is moving forward with making Canons Park and South Harrow step-free. It will make a massive difference for people with mobility issues, parents with buggies and older residents.
“I have been lobbying for this improvement, and I will continue to do all I can to work with TfL to make it a reality and work towards the ambition of making half of the Underground step-free by 2030.”
Bob Blackman MP
Mr Blackman MP said he was glad Canons Park station had been selected after “a long 20 years trying to achieve this goal” but expressed disappointment that Queensbury wasn’t chosen and that Stanmore didn’t even make the long list.
TfL claims that step-free access at Stanmore already exists due to the addition of a ramp, however, Mr Blackman is also campaigning to “tighten the definition” of step-free access as residents currently have a choice “between 71 steps or a steep ramp”.
He said: “The current choice commuters face is either 48 steps to the main entrance [and] ticket hall, 16 steps via the car park, 24 steps at the side to the bus stop, or the current step-free route which is over 140 meters long and includes a steep ramp that even the Paralympian, Tanni Grey-Thompson, could not complete unaided.
“If we can get a proper ‘step-free’ definition agreed, then we can apply pressure on TfL to delist Stanmore as ‘step-free’ so that it meets the requirement to be considered for investments and a lift.”
London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan wants 50 per cent of the stations on the London Underground to be step-free by 2030 in order to make London’s transport network more accessible and inclusive. There are currently 93 Tube stations that are step-free, meaning a further 43 stations will need to be upgraded in the next five years for this target to be met.
Canons Park. Image Credit: LDRS.
Deputy Mayor of London for Transport, Seb Dance, said: “London is for everyone, and the Mayor and I are committed to making our transport network as accessible as possible, enabling more people to enjoy all our great city has to offer.
“It’s great to see that these 17 stations will proceed to feasibility studies as part of the next stage of TfL’s Step-Free Access programme. This work is essential to delivering the Mayor’s ambitious target of making 50 per cent of the network step-free by 2030 and building a better, fairer, more accessible London for everyone.”
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