This weekend, millions of people will converge on London and Windsor to commemorate the coronation of King Charles I. However, visitors are urged to make travel plans in advance as road closures, bus detours, and altered rail schedules may make getting about difficult for many. Everything you need to know about visiting the nation’s capital is laid down here by The Telegraph.
Capital region road closures
Anyone planning on driving into central London for the King’s Coronation has been warned against doing so. TfL has recommended that anyone hoping to get a good viewing place along the parade route take advantage of the unaffected public transport system.
Several streets in the heart of London will be closed, and a section of Westminster near the Thames will be sealed off. From the river to Hyde Park, as well as the region between Vauxhall Bridge and Southwark Bridge, will be off-limits.
Meanwhile, a huge area on the south bank of the river, including Waterloo, will be off-limits. The traffic wardens of Westminster City Council have stated that they will go on strike on the day of the Coronation, raising concerns about parking along the procession route.
While traffic jams are unlikely in London this weekend, according to motoring organisations, there may be some elsewhere. The RAC has warned that Sunday’s Coronation event will see the highest traffic levels of the week in and around Windsor.
“While Saturday in central London will be a ‘no-go’ area for drivers, on Sunday the focus shifts to Windsor’s Coronation concert,” said RAC spokesperson Rod Dennis.
The M4, A4, and A308—as well as other roads in and around town—should see an uptick in traffic as a result. Drivers are urged to anticipate significant wait times and make appropriate preparations. Roads near train stations may be busier than usual on the day of the Coronation and the days running up to it, the AA advised. RAC and traffic data specialists Inrix predict that there will be an extra two million cars on the roads during the Coronation bank holiday.
National Highways is removing 700 miles of roadworks just for the Coronation weekend in an effort to reduce traffic across the country’s highways. This means that 96% of the whole highway system will be open for traffic with no construction in sight. The M40, M1, and M4 leading into London have all been flagged as expectedly congested by National Highways.
The roadworks on 11 miles of the M1 between Hemel Hempstead and Dunstable, however, will be finished in time for the weekend. It was also said that roadworks on 12.5 miles of the M11 between Cambridge and Harlow would be completed.
