Which London road is UK’s most congested?
UNLESS THEY LIKE QUEUEING, NO ONE GETS THEIR KICKS ON ROUTE A406 (THE NORTH CIRCULAR)
LONDON may be a great city but it is not known for its free flowing road network.
Traffic is simply a fact of life in our city. That said, some spots are worse than others
It will probably come as no surprise to regular drivers and bus passengers that one of the city’s busiest roads has topped a list of the most congested in the UK.
Apparently we waste a staggering 61 hours per year stuck in congestion on this particular road.
The A406, aka the North Circular, is the worst road in the UK for delays, according to the INRIX traffic and travel service, which has published its “global traffic scorecard” this week. That’s a thing apparently.
Specifically the A406 from Chiswick Roundabout to Hanger Lane is the stretch motorists ought to avoid.
Three of the five routes with the UK’s worst congestion are in London.
London’s A23 and the Strand are in second and third place in the list of the UK’s slowest roads.
Leeds Road – unsurprisingly, in Leeds – and the A34 in Birmingham come fourth and fifth on the list of roads no one wants to have to regularly drive on.
Edinburgh and London tie for title of UK’s slowest city, though.
Perhaps we should ditch the car entirely as on average during peak hours it is faster to ride a bike than drive or take the bus.
Of the cities studied worldwide, Dublin, in Ireland, has the slowest city centre speeds, averaging 6mph during peak hours.
INRIX also found London is the sixth most congested city in the world (more on that below). What is slow traffic costing us? In London we lost 227 hours of our lives due to congestion in 2018, INRIX say.
In the UK as a whole, INRIX reckon traffic hold ups cost us £1,317 per driver.
In London, the figure is higher at £1,680, because we naturally spend longer sitting in jams.
Things could be worse.
In Moscow Russian travellers lost 210 hours in congestion. They live in the most gridlocked city in the world.
Istanbul, Bogata, Mexico City and Sao Paulo all suffer from worse traffic jams than London, too.
But on the other hand even the busy streets of Rio and Rome have roads that flow better than our capital’s.
What does Transport for London have to say about it?
TfL reacted to the report by INRIX by insisting it has big plans to ease London’s traffic.
Glynn Barton, its director of network management, said: “We are taking bold action to reduce congestion and improve London’s poor air quality.
“This includes removing the congestion charge exemption for private hire vehicles and reducing the time taken to clear up unplanned incidents, ensuring that roadworks by utilities companies and others are better coordinated.
“We are also working with the freight industry to encourage more efficient deliveries across the capital.”
Upcoming plans for an ultra low emission zone would also help, Mr Barton added.
He said: “To directly tackle poor air quality, we are ensuring that buses, taxis and private hire vehicles are as green as possible, alongside the introduction of the ultra-low emission zone this April.
“In delivering the Mayor’s ambitious plans for 80 per cent of all journeys to be made by public transport, walking or cycling by 2041, our plans will further help tackle congestion across London.”