Last week west bound traffic through Southall Broadway was halted and diverted around the town centre to allow the next phase of construction works to go ahead as part of the £11m Southall 'Big Plan' improvements envisioned by the Council and Transport for London.

The works, the removal of the westbound lane of traffic and diversions will last for the next five months until just before Christmas and it will undoubtedly be a challenging and painful time for local residents and businesses. Traffic congestion at the best of times in Southall is difficult and this will only make things worse for a short time. But this short term pain will lead to some long term gain if the Council and TFL have got this right which I believe they have.

One of the key long term gains of these improvements is to improve pedestrian safety on The Broadway. The current crowded pavements and pedestrians crossing the busy road away from the pelican crossings have led to frequent accidents - averaging one a month - and some of them have been very serious and in one instance fatal. The current works will build some refuge islands all along the middle of The Broadway that will allow pedestrians to cross safely wherever they like. Pelican crossings will then be removed, traffic will be calmed to 20 mph and reduced to two lanes, all of which will improve both traffic flows and pedestrian safety.

The scheme when completed will, if the traffic modelling is correct, decrease congestion improving eastbound journey times by around five minutes due to junction improvements and the fact that the Herbert Road car park will now be accessed via Orchard Avenue and the tailbacks from cars entering the car park will no longer spill over onto The Broadway causing traffic chaos. Another long term win will be the removal of the yellow box at the Herbert Road junction where over the years local residents have racked up tens of thousands of pounds in PCNs as this is one of the top ten traffic fine generators in London.

The wider pavements, new tree planting and general improvements to the public realm will make The Broadway a much better place for people to enjoy as they work, shop, eat and socialise there. I will be watching the Council and TFL carefully to make sure these improvements are delivered in the long run and that every effort is made to minimise the pain in the short run.

The long term gains I believe are worth it as this represents the first major investment in Southall for decades and it will be a real improvement on what we have now. I see this as being a little like child birth. Very painful at the time but well worth it in the long run given the life long enjoyment that the new born child will bring.