SHOPPERS have backed a campaign to install lifts at an “extremely busy” tube station to help the elderly and disabled in Harrow this week.

Tube-users supported the campaign earlier this month for lifts at Harrow-on-the-Hill tube station after Councillor Sue Anderson (Greenhill, Labour) collected around 200 signatures.

An online petition was launched this weekend and will be handed over to Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, in January.

Janet Phillips, 65, was formerly a resident in Harrow but regularly visits her daughter who lives in the area. She said: “I’m disabled and have trouble with my knees so climbing those stairs can be a real struggle.

“I went to Harrow County Grammar School and passed through this station all the time when I was younger.

“I remember running up and down those stairs but it's different for me now. It’s fine for young people but the elderly and disabled should be considered.”

Pam Dwyer, 64, from Harrow, said: “People are struggling all the time and it’s not just the elderly and disabled. It’s also people with heavy shopping that could do with it.

“It’s something that should really be considered for the station and I would fully back a campaign like this.”

Philip Northover, 66, from Kenton, works in IT, and the station is part of his journey to work. He said: “It is most definitely a good idea to do this as you can see people have a difficult time carrying bags and also parents with prams.

"I use the station regularly and know how hard it is for some people as it's extremely busy. I would definitely support the campaign.”

Greengrocer Jason Hough has run his business Premier Food in the station for the last 20 years. He said: “They’ve been wanting to put a lift in for ages here. We’ve had people come along to see where it could go.

"At one point they were considering putting it where Wenzel’s Bakery is now. I think it’s important for people who find it difficult to walk up and down the stairs.”

The mayor visited Harrow yesterday to launch the 2012 Safer Parks.

Speaking to the Harrow Times about installing the lifts, Mr Johnson said: “We’d love to do it and I’ve had conversations with campaigners. We just have to in very tough times recognise that sometimes you can’t satisfy everything on the timescale that people want.

“The difficulty of putting in lifts is that they can be very expensive. I think if it is in Green Park or Shepherds Bush it can be about £94 million per lift and that’s a lot.

“I’m very conscious of it and it’s on my list of things to do but I’m afraid I can’t click my fingers and say it’s going to be there tomorrow.”

The petition can be accessed at www.ipetitions.com/petition/access-at-harrow-on-the-hill-station

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