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Old July 12th 06, 07:46 PM posted to uk.transport.london
londoncityslicker londoncityslicker is offline
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First recorded activity at LondonBanter: Apr 2005
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Default Traffic from M4 to London City Airport?


"AstraVanMan" wrote in message
...
"Londoncityslicker" wrote:
I travel this route (Chiswick Roundabout to City Airport) fortnightly
at the same time late Sunday afternoon.

Generally the best route is the straight one down the A4 all the way

up
to the Trafalgar Sq. Then Northumberland Ave running to the

Embankment.
Then follow the Highway/Limehouse Link/Aspen Way down to City Airport.

Hotspots are a bit of congestion on the A4 in Chiswick but is

generally
fine.
Otherwise Trafalgar Square can be a bottle neck especially if there is
an event on as Sunday drivers will slow down and look and there are
kamikaze pedestrians.
And a little queue into Piccadilly Circus. Sometimes theres a queue
into the limehouse link. But both of these queues run smoothly most of
the time.
It'll take one hour. Less if theres no problem.


Is it worth all that messing about when you can just cut through Earls
Court and down to the Embankment that way (Cheyne Walk etc) ?? I've
always avoided Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square like the plague!
Even if I've ever headed into Soho I'd cut up Albermarle Street and
around the loop to Vigo Street and cross Regent Street there. Unless it
was before the bus lane hours on Piccadilly in the morning....

I sometimes do the A40 (when I feel like a change) but you can
sometimes hit major tailbacks coming off the Westway at Paddington and
once again on Commerical Street. If you do get caught then it'll add
another 20 minutes to half an hour. But on a clear day this route is
quicker by about 5 minutes.

There are variations on the A4 route but generally they'll do the same
thing but with more/less congestion or complexity.


Cheers for all that.

--
"For want of the price of tea and a slice, the old man died."



Cutting through Earls Court is also a possible route.
But I find that at 5pm you get stuck a bit in the Earls Court area and the
queue onto the Embankment.
It also feels like a longer route. But i'm sure there's not much in it. But
pleasant views along the river.
If you take this route you can also cut out Parliament Square by crossing
Lambeth Bridge then continuing on the south-side until Southwark bridge.
Or even the Rotherhithe tunnel. As sometimes Lower Thames street get chocka.
The south-side is a ghost town for most of the stretch. It's useful in the
opposite direction to go south then back north.

Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square aren't that bad most of the time.
It was even easier before Ken blocked it all up. It moves though.

As you can see there are various routes. And there are various options for
congestion.

Hope the advice helps.

A.