THE improvements to Southall Broadway Boulevard are being celebrated by Ealing Council for the second time this week after its transport and highways teams, in partnership with Murrill Construction, won a national award.

The team was presented with the Streets Award for outstanding street design at the annual Chartered Institute of Highways and Transport (CIHT) awards on Tuesday evening.

The success follows the official reopening of Southall Broadway last weekend, which marked the completion of a £6m project to increase safety, boost local business and make overall improvements to the area.

In selecting Southall Broadway Boulevard, the judges thought it was a scheme that benefited from an “excellent, clear and simple vision on an extraordinarily busy street with a multiplicity of users.”

Southall Broadway now has new boulevard zones down the centre of the road allowing pedestrians to cross the street in two movements, making it easier, safer and more convenient.

In addition the road now benefits from wider footways, which has reduced crowding, while signalised crossings have been removed and a 20mph zone introduced, smoothing out the traffic flow and eliminating stop-starts at traffic lights.

The road has also been completely resurfaced, with new street lights added, along with CCTV cameras, bins and benches.

A survey suggests a 22% increase in the number of people walking to the area and a 12% reduction in the number driving there.