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London: the unlockening/relockening

T & P said:
The contrast between the ‘very centre’ of London and the rest of London since the pandemic began, even neighbouring areas still in Zone 1, is truly staggering.

Travel just a little over a mile westwards to South Kensington and the difference in pedestrian and traffic presence, and percentage of shops open, is breathtaking.

I guess it’s a combination of very low residential occupancy, and fewer essential shops in the likes of Mayfair & the West End that have transformed it into a ghost town pretty much throughout since March 2020.
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Roads are busy around here (Hackney) partly due to the traffic calming measures that have redirected traffic onto main roads.
 
Can't quite tell whether or not that queue above is the actual one to get into Borough Market? :confused:

Remind me of the queues for Monmouth Coffee, on Market days back then ;) when getting into The Market Porter opposite was a piece of piss by comparison! :rolleyes: ;)
 
marty21 said:
I went for a walk on Walthamstow Marshes late afternoon today , it was heaving with folk.
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Reasonably or badly distancing?

Well at least we have another Tory Incompetence thing to take the piss out of -- announcing the Unlockdwn timetable immediately in advance of a sunny, mild, spring-like weekend! :rolleyes: ;)
 
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We’ve been cycling to central London then doing an urban walk from there (e.g. from the Time Out books). Have done a few in the City, Pimilico, St. James’s and (yesterday) Mayfair. Mostly there have been very few people on the routes of the walks, in contrast to the parks. We left our bikes in Hyde Park yesterday and it was very busy but Mayfair was deserted.
 
Winot said:
We’ve been cycling to central London then doing an urban walk from there (e.g. from the Time Out books). Have done a few in the City, Pimilico, St. James’s and (yesterday) Mayfair. Mostly there have been very few people on the routes of the walks, in contrast to the parks. We left our bikes in Hyde Park yesterday and it was very busy but Mayfair was deserted.
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Have been doing a fair bit of the same...and observing the same.

By the way TfL when are you going to get your act together and install some cycle hire docking stations east of Brixton :mad:
 
teuchter said:
Have been doing a fair bit of the same...and observing the same.

By the way TfL when are you going to get your act together and install some cycle hire docking stations east of Brixton :mad:
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I just want a cycle route all the way to Epping :(

(I'd accept Loughton I guess)
 
I'm certainly going to be watching with much interest, what happens if and when we see a true unlockening this summer. Whether, when workers start returning to central London, there will be a notable increase in those cycling in.

Although London's cycle infrastructure is still somewhat rubbish, it's better than it was a year ago. We'll see what percentage of those improvements get ripped out again.
 
teuchter said:
I'm certainly going to be watching with much interest, what happens if and when we see a true unlockening this summer. Whether, when workers start returning to central London, there will be a notable increase in those cycling in.

Although London's cycle infrastructure is still somewhat rubbish, it's better than it was a year ago. We'll see what percentage of those improvements get ripped out again.
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some of them aren't improvements
 
teuchter said:
Literally by definition, all improvements are improvements. If they aren't improvements then they aren't improvements. Stop talking nonsense.
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Calling something an improvement doesn't actually make it an improvement though.

Many things which are called improvements are or turn out not to be any real improvement on what was there before, and as a result are altered or even returned to their original form within a few years.

I wouldn't be surprised if much of London's recent cycling infrastructure falls into this category.
 
marty21 said:
Roads are busy around here (Hackney) partly due to the traffic calming measures that have redirected traffic onto main roads.
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The little road next next to mine has got ridiculously busy due to other roads being shut down. TBF you can mostly rely on waving at drivers to get a space to cross because they generally aren't driving fast, but it's daft that they sent more traffic to one road without thinking about pedestrian crossings, as if pedestrians stop existing beyond those protected roads. :facepalm:
 
Did some tube/train/bus journeys today , still very quiet , travelled on the Barking- Gospel Oak line , Northern line , Liverpool St - Chingford rail service , and a 253 bus from Clapton to Stamford Hill, all pretty empty (I was travelling this morning and after lunch)
 
Had to go to Finchley today (for a genuinely essential family health reason).

Fast food shops, cafes, butchers, bakers (no candlestick makers), a flower shop, and a park cafe with fully occupied benches (outside); all open as normal, with bit 'Open' signs.

I checked the news to see if I'd missed an announcement about restrictions being lifted, but no.

What's going on?
 
Mation said:
Had to go to Finchley today (for a genuinely essential family health reason).

Fast food shops, cafes, butchers, bakers (no candlestick makers), a flower shop, and a park cafe with fully occupied benches (outside); all open as normal, with bit 'Open' signs.

I checked the news to see if I'd missed an announcement about restrictions being lifted, but no.

What's going on?
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That's kind of what's been going on right through this 'lockdown' isn't it?
 
Mation said:
Had to go to Finchley today (for a genuinely essential family health reason).

Fast food shops, cafes, butchers, bakers (no candlestick makers), a flower shop, and a park cafe with fully occupied benches (outside); all open as normal, with bit 'Open' signs.

I checked the news to see if I'd missed an announcement about restrictions being lifted, but no.

What's going on?
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I think there's a candlestick makers in the little parade of shops by west finchley station
 
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